HBAR bears take charge after Open Interest’s surge signals shorts’ dominance

  • HBAR’s Open Interest soared to a 6-months high as the market heated up
  • Long liquidations exploded after HBAR reverted to its consolidation zone

As a seasoned crypto investor with battle scars from countless market swings, I can’t help but feel a mix of intrigue and caution when observing HBAR’s recent performance. The surge in Open Interest to a 6-month high, coupled with the massive liquidations, paints a picture that’s both fascinating and intimidating.


Hedera’s indigenous cryptocurrency, HBAR, recently experienced its largest increase in open interest since May. Notably, the currency’s price fluctuations seem to indicate that a significant portion of this rise was likely due to traders who had short-sold the currency.

As a researcher, I observed an impressive spike in HBAR Futures Open Interest on November 13, reaching a peak of 61.11 million. This surge followed a steady increase that began on November 5. Notably, this was the highest level of Open Interest for the cryptocurrency since May 21. Among the exchanges, Binance played a significant role in driving this surge, contributing nearly $20 million to the total.

HBAR bears take charge after Open Interest’s surge signals shorts’ dominance

As an analyst, I examined HBAR’s price dynamics and found that the initial open interest accumulation was predominantly bullish. Yet, there was a transition point where this bullish sentiment transformed, leaving HBAR on a downward trend even before the open interest reached its peak.

A botched HBAR rally?

Initially in early November, HBAR followed other leading cryptocurrencies with a strong upward trend. This surge saw HBAR increase by 83.73% between November 5th and 12th, peaking at $0.077. However, it seems that demand for the coin rapidly declined after this point, as indicated by the significant price drop which appeared to be a deceptive bullish signal or trap.

HBAR bears take charge after Open Interest’s surge signals shorts’ dominance

On Wednesday, HBAR experienced a significant drop of up to 26% from its peak on Tuesday, reaching its lowest price. This steep decline is important because it ended within the short-term resistance zone, suggesting that the cryptocurrency may not be prepared for a substantial bullish resurgence at this time.

It’s important to point out that when the pullback occurred, HBAR was already showing signs of being overbought. This pullback served as a reminder of how an excessive rise in optimism about a potential breakout from a consolidation zone could lead to a false signal or ‘bull trap’.

It appears that a potential short squeeze happened initially, as indicated by the data on liquidations, with approximately $539,000 in short positions being closed out on November 12th. Conversely, this week’s price drop resulted in over $886,000 worth of long positions being liquidated.

HBAR bears take charge after Open Interest’s surge signals shorts’ dominance

On the 12th of November, HBAR’s liquidation events reached the highest levels we’ve observed in the past six months. Remarkably, these liquidations extended into the following day, the 13th, with a total of approximately $620,000 worth of long positions being closed.

Indeed, the recent events might have led to some traders’ positions getting closed and possibly deterred a few investors. Nevertheless, given its significant price reduction, HBAR could still hold promising prospects for potential investors.

Currently, HBAR’s price at this moment is selling at approximately two-thirds less than its highest predicted price for 2024. Despite a powerful upward trend during the first part of the year that reached its peak in April, the cryptocurrency has shown continued investor interest.

Read More

2024-11-15 09:43