HBAR has recorded a 7% drop over the past week, underperforming the broader crypto market, which has shown signs of a mild recovery.
A closer look at the technicals paints a bleak picture, with key indicators suggesting the selloff may continue in the short term.
HBAR Bulls Step Back as Sellers Gain Ground
An assessment of the HBAR/USD one-day chart shows that the token’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) remains below the neutral 50 level and continues to trend downward. As of this writing, this momentum indicator is at 43.38.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is a momentum indicator used to assess whether an asset is overbought or oversold. It operates on a scale from 0 to 100, with readings above 70 typically signaling overbought conditions and a potential price correction. On the other hand, values below 30 suggest the asset is oversold and may be poised for a rebound.
HBAR’s RSI reading signals growing bearish momentum. Its weakening value suggests that selling pressure is intensifying, reducing the likelihood of a short-term rebound.
HBAR’s Balance of Power (BoP) indicator, which currently returns a negative value of -0.27 at press time, further reinforces the bearish outlook.
This indicator measures the strength of buyers versus sellers by analyzing price movement within a given period. When an asset’s BoP is negative, it indicates that sellers are dominating the market. This increases the likelihood of continued downward pressure on HBAR’s price in the short term.
HBAR Faces Downtrend Pressure
HBAR’s decline over the past days has caused it to trade below a descending trend line. This is a bearish pattern formed when an asset consistently makes lower highs over time, and those highs can be connected by a straight line sloping downward.
The longer the trend line holds, the stronger the indication that the asset is in a sustained downtrend. This pattern reflects a bearish market sentiment, where HBAR sellers gradually overpower buyers.
If this continues, it could push HBAR’s price further to $0.12.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin believes that the direction of blockchain applications often mirrors the intentions and ethics of their creators. He cites that projects like Pump.fun are derived from bad social philosophy.
In a recent discussion, he highlighted how the impact—positive or negative—of crypto projects is shaped by the values driving their development.
Buterin Says Pump.fun and Terra Reflect What Not to Build in Crypto
Buterin praised a handful of decentralized applications that align with Ethereum’s long-term vision. These include Railgun, Farcaster, Polymarket, and the messaging app Signal.
On the flip side, he criticized platforms such as Pump.fun, Terra/Luna, and the collapsed FTX exchange, describing them as harmful examples of what not to build.
“The differences in what the app does stem from differences in beliefs in developers’ heads about what they are here to accomplish,” Buterin explained.
Vitalik Buterin Talking about Social Philosophy in Crypto. Source: Warpcast
In the past, he noted that tools like Polymarket could move beyond betting on elections and serve as useful mechanisms for improving decision-making in governance, media, and even scientific research.
Previously, the Ethereum co-founder had warned about schemes that prioritize hype over substance, such as Terra/Luna and FTX. He has also consistently urged the crypto space, especially DeFi, to build with ethical intent and long-term utility in mind.
How Developer Ethics Shape Blockchain’s Future
To explain his views on Ethereum’s unique development path, Buterin compared it to C++, a general-purpose programming language.
Unlike C++, Ethereum is only partially general-purpose. Many of its core innovations, like account abstraction or the shift to proof-of-stake, rely heavily on developers’ commitment to Ethereum’s broader mission.
“Ethereum L1 is not quite in that position: someone who doesn’t believe in decentralization would not add light clients, or FOCIL, or (good forms of) account abstraction; someone who doesn’t mind energy waste would not spend half a decade moving to PoS… But the EVM opcodes might have been roughly the same either way. So Ethereum is perhaps 50% general-purpose,” Buterin said.
Buterin furthered that Ethereum apps are around 80% special-purpose. Because of this, the ethical framework and goals of the people building them play a critical role in shaping what the network becomes.
Bitwise just filed for a NEAR ETF, the first such application in the United States. In the last few weeks, the firm has attempted to create several new altcoin ETF products based on DOGE, APT, and others.
NEAR itself has been comparatively quiet in 2025, but this application could attract increased interest in the project.
Presently, the filing is very barebones, and the public has little information. If Bitwise or the SEC posts the full application in the future, that could help clear up a few questions.
For now, it may be safe to assume that the NEAR ETF resembles Bitwise’s other recent altcoin efforts.
NEAR is a Proof-of-Stake L1 blockchain optimized for dApp development. Launched in late 2020, it splits blockchains into sub-chains with independent validators to increase transaction processing efficiency.
The altcoin saw heightened interest at the tail end of last year but has had a relatively smaller presence throughout 2025.
Now that Bitwise wants to create a NEAR ETF, that might attract some attention. The asset’s price has been on the upswing; after a slump in mid-April, it increased over 25% in the last two weeks.
Obviously, these gains have nothing to do with Bitwise’s filing, but the ETF effort might help build forward momentum.
NEAR Protocol Monthly Price Chart. Source: BeInCrypto
Bitwise’s current plan involves several other “first of its kind” ETFs, and a NEAR product might face a crowded market if approved. As the number of altcoin ETFs increases, the law of diminishing returns could have a negative impact.
In 2025, AI agents became the newest obsession for crypto market participants. They were integrated into decentralized finance (DeFi), gaming, infrastructure, and even DAO governance, touted as the next evolution of Web3 intelligence.
With this in mind, BeInCrypto contacted OORT CEO Dr. Max Li for his perspective on whether these autonomous, machine-learning-driven software acting on behalf of users could reshape crypto. Li had some interesting insights, but warned that real-world adoption, security, and regulation are the biggest hurdles ahead.
The AI Agent Gold Rush: Disruption or Distraction?
Data from the AI Agents Directory indicates an average monthly increase of 33% in the number of AI agents.
However, despite the growing interest, Web3-based artificial intelligence solutions still account for a minimal fraction (3%) of the overall AI agent ecosystem.
According to Dr. Max Li, founder and CEO of decentralized cloud network OORT, the space is moving faster than its infrastructure can handle, pointing to models like ElizaOS (formerly ai16z).
Yet, in his opinion, the broader playing field is not ready. He says the core infrastructure, from decentralized storage to tokenized agent marketplaces, is still under construction.
The Real Bottleneck? Security, Not Speed
While scalability is often seen as crypto’s weakness, Max Li says security and compliance are bigger threats. This is especially true when tokenizing AI outputs like computing, decision-making, or real-time data.
Dr. Li added that tokenized AI raises difficult questions. Who owns the data that the agents generate? How can decentralized systems comply with global data laws like GDPR? And what happens when AI agents interact with sensitive personal or financial information on-chain?
“These may already be more significant barriers than scalability,” Dr. Li warned.
The OORT executive emphasized that without clear custodianship or compliance frameworks, the risks extend beyond crypto to regulators, investors, and end-users.
Enterprise Adoption Isn’t Coming Anytime Soon
The industry often claims AI agents will bring real-world industries on-chain. However, Dr. Li says it is still a fantasy, particularly in the public blockchain.
He explained that while enterprises like Walmart could benefit from AI for internal operations, there is little incentive to tokenize those agents. Traditional firms want efficiency and control, not decentralized tokens wrapped around their core systems.
“Most enterprises would prefer to keep that data within their own secured servers rather than exposing it on a public, decentralized network,” he said.
While private chains may offer a bridge, Max Li says the idea of tokenized agents powering real-world logistics or finance is, for now, a crypto-native dream.
A Market Fueled by Hype
AI agent tokens have exploded in 2025. Riding the momentum of both AI and crypto, they have attracted massive capital inflows. However, Dr. Li parallels the dot-com bubble, concluding that while innovation is real, the market is overheated.
Based on this, he does not believe the current rally is sustainable: “It’s fair to say there’s a bubble forming here.”
This sentiment echoes Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ), who recently warned that most AI token projects launch too early.
“Too many AI agent developers focus too much on their token and not enough on the agent’s usefulness. I recommend making a really good agent first,” wrote CZ in a post.
Zhao argued that only a tiny fraction of AI agents, say 0.05%, actually need tokens at this stage. Similarly, Hitesh Malviya, an analyst and popular figure on X, recently echoed this sentiment in a post.
“If you look outside the crypto echo chamber, you’ll find that we do have a solid ecosystem of free and better AI agents—and they don’t have tokens, nor might they ever need one. So, what we’re trading in the name of agents is nothing but memes—a value we created out of thin air, like we always do,” Hitesh observed.
Regulatory Turbulence Ahead
Perhaps the most underappreciated risk in the AI agent boom is regulation. The intersection of open AI systems, tokenized data, and borderless blockchains is a minefield for compliance.
Dr. Li warned of contradictions yet to be resolved: How can decentralized AI be transparent and private? Who is liable when agents act autonomously but cause financial losses?
“In the short term, regulatory intervention will likely create additional hurdles for innovation,” he concluded.
This is especially true where there is no global consensus. Until jurisdictions align on KYC (know-your-customer), AML (anti-money laundering) laws, and data governance, institutional adoption will remain cautious, if not frozen.
While the rise of AI agents is real, their integration into tokenized crypto ecosystems is still a high-risk, high-ambiguity frontier. Infrastructure remains fragile. Legal frameworks are missing, and real-world adoption is still speculative at best.
Dr. Max Li’s view is clear: crypto must shift its focus from hype to functionality—from token-first to agent-first design.
Only then will the next leap in AI-powered decentralization become more than just a market cycle.
