Story (IP) Rallies 20% After Sharp Post-Mainnet Decline — More Gains Ahead
Key Takeaways
- Story Protocol’s IP token has jumped back to $2 after an initial 31% drop after launch on Feb. 13.
- Sentiment around the cryptocurrency is positive amid rising demand compared to previous days.
- Indicators support an extended upswing that could see IP’s price surpass its launch-day value.
IP, the native cryptocurrency of Story Protocol, a layer-1 blockchain focused on intellectual property on the internet, has jumped by 20% in the last 24 hours. This price increase makes it one of the top gainers among the top 300 cryptos.
Interestingly, this rebound comes five days after Story Protocol launched on Mainnet. During the same period, it distributed rewards to early users as an airdrop.
But like most projects with such a launch style, IP’s price slumped moments after. But with this bounce, could the cryptocurrency hit higher highs?
Airdrop Sell-Off Fades as IP Bounces
On Feb. 13, Story Protocol launched on Mainnet alongside the IP utility token. While IP has a maximum supply of 1 billion tokens, the initial ones in circulation amounted to 25% of the total, which is 250 million.
On launch day, IP debuted at a market value of $2.89, with exchanges like OKX, Coinbase, and Bitget listing the token. However, two days later, its price plunged to $1.37 as eligible airdrop recipients—allocated 10% of the total supply—triggered a wave of sell-offs.
Today, the altcoin’s value has risen above $2 amid the double-digit upswing. According to Santiment, the price increase can be attributed to the rise in the sentiment around the project.
Some days back, the Weighted Sentiment around IP was zero. As of this writing, it has climbed to 0.70.
The rise in this metric implies that most conversations around Story Protocol across different social media are positive. If sustained, this could increase demand for the cryptocurrency and drive IP’s price higher.
IP Price Targets Higher Highs
From a technical perspective, the 1-hour chart shows that IP’s price has been forming lower highs (LH). This indicates that the uptrend looks solid and might continue as it remains in an ascending channel.
The Money Flow Index (MFI), which measures buying and selling pressure, backs up the bullish trend. Over the weekend, the MFI dropped to the oversold region.
But, as seen below, it has ascended above the 50.00 signal line, indicating IP is experiencing improved buying pressure. Like the MFI, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) has climbed to the positive region.
This indicates bullish momentum around the cryptocurrency. The MACD and MFI readings might continue to rise.
IP’s price might jump to $2.21 if this trend continues. Should buying pressure intensify, the value could hit a new high and rally to $3.
However, if bulls lower their guard, this uptrend might stall and possibly drag IP’s price down. In that scenario, the cryptocurrency’s value could slide to $1.69 at the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement level.
In addition, the inability to defend this price point, if it happens, could lead to another crash. Should that be the case, IP’s price could plunge to its all-time low of $1.37 again.
