HBAR has experienced considerable volatility over the past month, struggling to recover recent losses and break the month-and-a-half-long downtrend.
Despite these challenges, the altcoin remains in a critical position as traders remain optimistic about its potential breakout. However, a failure to break key resistance levels could lead to further price declines.
HBAR Traders Are Bullish
Throughout this month, traders have shown strong bullish sentiment toward HBAR. The funding rate has remained positive consistently, indicating a dominance of long contracts in the market.
This suggests that traders are confident about a potential price recovery and are positioning themselves to capitalize on a rise in value. The consistent optimism reflects a belief that HBAR can rebound from its current downtrend.
Also, the positive funding rate shows that more investors are willing to place bets on the future of altcoin despite the ongoing challenges.
The macro momentum for HBAR reveals that short traders could face substantial losses if the price rises. The liquidation map indicates that approximately $38 million worth of short contracts could be liquidated if HBAR breaks its current downtrend and rises to $0.163.
This would have a significant impact on the market, potentially fueling further buying momentum.
Short traders have been betting on continued price declines, but a breakout above key resistance levels could force them to exit their positions. This would create additional buying pressure, supporting the potential for a larger upward move.
At the time of writing, HBAR is trading at $0.148, just under the critical resistance level of $0.154. The altcoin is looking to breach this resistance and break the downtrend line that has been holding it back.
A successful push past this level would be a key milestone in HBAR’s recovery.
The factors supporting a potential breakout indicate that HBAR could rise to $0.163 if it manages to flip $0.154 into support. Reaching this level could trigger the liquidation of short positions, further driving the price up.
This could help HBAR gain momentum and recover from its recent downtrend.
However, if the broader market turns bearish, HBAR’s price could fall to $0.139. Losing this support would be a bearish signal, potentially driving the price further down to $0.133.
Such a decline would invalidate the bullish thesis and shift the market outlook back toward the bears.
Earlier today, Israel launched a ‘pre-emptive strike’ on Tehran and declared a state of emergency. This rapid escalation of the conflict drove the crypto market into a freefall.
Over the past 24 hours, total liquidations amounted to $1.15 billion. Additionally, the overall market is down by 6.6%.
Crypto Market Plunges Amid Israel-Iran Conflict
According to CNN, Israel’s strikes targeted Iran’s nuclear program and missile capabilities, affecting dozens of locations. The attack reportedly eliminated Iran’s top military leaders and senior nuclear scientists. It was confirmed that General Hossein Salami, the Commander-in-Chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was killed.
“Iran’s state television says Deputy Commander in Chief of all Armed Forces, General Gholam Ali Rashid, has been killed, along with nuclear scientist Fereydoon Abbasi,” The Kobeissi Letter posted.
To prepare for potential retaliation, Israel has declared a state of emergency, closing schools, banning gatherings, and mobilizing tens of thousands of soldiers.
Furthermore, Iran is preparing a ‘lethal‘ response against Israel following the attacks. It has already appointed General Vahidi, the former head of the Quds Force, as the new commander of the IRGC.
Admiral Habibollah Sayyari has succeeded the late General Bagheri as the acting Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Statement No. 1 of the General Staff of the Armed Forces
In the early hours of Friday, 23 Khordad (June 12), the Zionist regime carried out an aggressive and reckless attack on several areas of the country, including both civilian and military zones. This assault resulted in… pic.twitter.com/TyQtkxPMmU
The rising tension between the two nations has caused significant turbulence in the market. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell by 1.3%, S&P 500 futures dropped 1.4%, and Nasdaq 100 futures plunged by 1.6%.
Nine of the top ten coins saw losses over the past day. Bitcoin (BTC) nosedived from over $108,000 to $104,112. However, altcoins suffered the harshest blow.
Crypto Market Cap Post Israel’s Attack On Iran. Source: BeInCrypto
Solana (SOL) lost nearly 10% over the past day. Ethereum (ETH) trailed closely with a 9.3% downtick. Among the top 100 coins, Fartcoin (FARTCOIN) and Ethena (ENA) stood out for double-digit losses of 17.3% and 15.9%, respectively.
These declines forced 247,769 traders out of their positions over the past 24 hours. According to Coinglass data, $1.15 billion has been liquidated from the crypto market.
Bitcoin faced $427.75 million in long and $19.10 million in short liquidations. Ethereum followed with $244.74 million in long liquidations and $43.57 million in short liquidations, highlighting the scale of market turmoil.
Nonetheless, the conflict drove oil and gold up. Oil prices spiked by more than 10%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose to $74.99 per barrel, marking a 10.21% uptick.
The global benchmark Brent increased by 10.28% to $76.48 per barrel. Gold also gained 1.2% to reach $3,426.
Analysts Divided Over Israel-Iran Conflict’s Impact on Crypto
As Iran prepares for retaliatory actions, it’s clear that the impact will be felt across markets. Amid this volatility, the cryptocurrency market, particularly Bitcoin, has become a focal point of debate among analysts.
“Bitcoin’s failure to rise against gold—despite over 3.5 years of hype, including a dozen ETFs, Super Bowl ads, El Salvador, NFTs, tens of billions of leveraged buying by MSTR, other Bitcoin treasury companies, the election of a Bitcoin president, and the establishment of a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve—is strong evidence that the bubble has peaked,” Schiff said.
Another analyst echoed his view, claiming that Bitcoin is not a safe haven but more akin to a tech stock.
“It is important to understand that Bitcoin shows its true colors as Israel attacks Iran. It is not an alternative-currency, it is not a safe haven, it is a risk asset, just like another tech stock, that will decline when the market goes to a risk-off posture,” the post read.
However, crypto advocate Anthony Pompliano maintained an optimistic outlook. Drawing parallels to an earlier incident when Iran launched 300 missiles at Israel, Pompliano noted that Bitcoin rebounded to outperform both oil and gold.
“Bitcoin ended up outperforming the other two over the first 48 hours in that situation. Will be interesting to see what happens here,” Pompliano stated.
Moreover, a recent BlackRock report revealed that while Bitcoin may underperform in the short term during geopolitical shocks, it has historically rallied double digits within 60 days post-crisis, outpacing gold and equities.
Despite immediate market jitters, this suggests a longer-term bullish outlook for the cryptocurrency. Still, the divide reflects broader uncertainties about Bitcoin’s maturity as an asset, with gold’s millennia-long stability pitted against Bitcoin’s 16-year track record. As markets stabilize, analysts will closely monitor price movements, with some betting on Bitcoin’s recovery and others clinging to gold’s proven reliability.
Jay Clayton, Trump’s next pick for the SDNY’s US Attorney, originally filed the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple. Clayton promised to end crypto crackdowns at the SDNY but personally started one of the most notorious incidents.
Trump is also planning to use a procedural loophole to avoid a messy confirmation process, which Senator Chuck Schumer swore to block. This incident raises questions about the quality of crypto’s new political allies.
He originally tapped Jay Clayton for this role in November, and he actually became Acting Attorney today. There’s just one concern — Jay Clayton initially filed the SEC’s action against Ripple.
The SEC vs Ripple case is considered a landmark action of the Gensler era, but Clayton actually initiated the suit. Clayton served as the SEC’s Chair from 2017 to 2020, and he resigned more than six months before his term limit.
He filed the SEC suit on December 22 and resigned the very next day in what the company called a “parting shot.”
A few years later, Clayton’s on the other side of government crypto crackdowns. When Trump first tapped him for the role last November, a spokesman claimed that the office would cease crypto enforcement actions.
In 2023, Clayton made televised interview appearances criticizing Gensler’s crackdowns, which infuriated Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse.
Watching this clip makes my blood boil.
The hypocrisy is shocking. @CNBC@SquawkCNBC should be calling him out for the bullshit.
(As a reminder, jay clayton brought the case against ripple, me and Chris Larsen. And left the building the next day).
Today, no representatives from Ripple commented on Clayton’s new role, but it is likely to ruffle feathers all the same. Specifically, the process to get a nominee confirmed by the Senate can be grueling.
According to local media, Trump named Clayton the Acting SDNY US Attorney, intending him to occupy the permanent role. Trump first nominated him last week, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed to block his confirmation.
Schumer claimed Clayton “has no fidelity to the law.”
Regardless, Clayton doesn’t need a confirmation vote to become Acting US Attorney, and he probably won’t need one. If the Senate won’t confirm him in 120 days, judges in the SDNY can appoint him until a nominee gets confirmed.
Trump doesn’t actually need to nominate anyone else, and Clayton could serve a regular term.
This is a very illustrative example of how much political power crypto has gained. Jay Clayton, the man who literally initiated the Ripple suit, will work against future enforcement. And yet, this doesn’t seem like an unambiguous good.
How much can the industry truly rely on its former enemies? How many of crypto’s friends today would gladly join a crackdown tomorrow? These are just some of the concerns among the crypto community.
Two initiatives to pass a state-level Strategic Bitcoin Reserve have failed in Florida, marking another setback for the nationwide movement. Nonetheless, several other active proposals remain.
Between this failure and Arizona’s recent veto, momentum might be slowing. Utah passed a Bitcoin-centric bill after totally excising Reserve-related language, but there’s been no unambiguous victory anywhere in the US.
“Both Florida’s Bitcoin Reserve Bills have failed. The legislature adjourned its 2025 session on May 2, without passage of the bills. HB 487 and SB 550 have been ‘indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration,’” claimed a crypto policy watchdog.
Technically, Florida’s Bitcoin Reserve bills accumulated bipartisan support in their first appearance. This is a critically useful tool for passing crypto-friendly regulation, but Florida’s support was fragile.
Their sponsor, Webster Barnaby, faced overwhelming skepticism at the time. Although he convinced them on the day, his words didn’t carry far.
The other might stand a better chance of receiving approval, but there’s no definite way to know. The main difference between the two involves funding.
State Reserve Race Update:
Both Florida’s Bitcoin Reserve Bills have failed.
The legislature adjourned its 2025 session on May 2, without passage of the bills.
HB 487 and SB 550 have been “indefinitely postponed and withdrawn from consideration.” pic.twitter.com/9TslaU80JW
As Florida’s Bitcoin Reserve bills quietly died in committee, it’s difficult to analyze a definite reason for their failure. Many state-level bills have been plagued by concern from fiscal conservatives unwilling to invest tax dollars in cryptocurrency.
This belief certainly has bipartisan buy-in; it’s been a feature of questions in Florida, the veto in Arizona, and other failures nationwide.
There are still a few active proposals, but their future is looking increasingly uncertain. The most hopeful prospect, in Utah, did technically become law, but only after shedding all mention of a Bitcoin Reserve.
Utah passed Bitcoin-friendly regulation, but refused this more ambitious task. If these failures continue, it may blunt momentum nationwide.
State Reserve Race Update: