Hedera Hashgraph's HBAR cryptocurrency has experienced significant downward pressure this week, with its price declining more than 17% since Sunday as bullish traders face mounting liquidations in the futures market. The digital asset, trading at $0.24 at press time, has seen $2.94 million wiped from its futures market in the past 24 hours alone, with long positions accounting for $2.70 million of those losses according to data from Coinglass.
What to Know:
- HBAR price has dropped 17% since Sunday and 9% in the past 24 hours, reaching critical support at $0.24
- Long liquidations dominated the futures market at 88% of total liquidations, indicating overwhelming bearish sentiment
- Smart Money Index fell to 0.98, showing institutional investors and experienced traders are exiting positions
Market Liquidations Signal Bullish Collapse
The cryptocurrency's recent performance reflects broader weakness in digital asset markets, but HBAR has faced particularly acute selling pressure. Data from Glassnode shows the token's Futures Long Liquidations Dominance surged past 88% on Thursday. This metric represents another aggressive shakeout for traders who bet on rising prices.
Long liquidations occur when traders using borrowed money to bet on price increases are forced to close their positions due to falling prices. The dominance of these liquidations over short liquidations indicates that most forced selling comes from bullish traders rather than those betting against the token.
When this metric spikes above 80%, it typically signals that bearish momentum has overwhelmed market sentiment. The cascade of forced sell-offs creates additional downward pressure on prices as automated systems trigger more liquidations.
Institutional Money Flees HBAR Positions
Beyond futures market stress, HBAR has also faced selling from sophisticated investors. The token's Smart Money Index has declined steadily since Sunday, reaching 0.98 at current levels.
Smart money refers to capital controlled by institutional investors and experienced traders who possess deeper market knowledge and better timing abilities than retail participants.
The Smart Money Index tracks this group's behavior by analyzing intraday price movements and comparing morning selling activity with afternoon buying patterns.
A rising SMI typically signals institutional accumulation ahead of major price moves. However, the current decline suggests experienced traders are reducing their HBAR exposure. This institutional retreat often precedes extended periods of price weakness.
Understanding Cryptocurrency Market Dynamics
Several technical indicators help explain HBAR's current predicament. Liquidations represent forced closures of leveraged trading positions when losses exceed available margin. Long liquidations specifically affect traders who borrowed money to buy cryptocurrency, expecting prices to rise.
The Smart Money Index measures the ratio between institutional and retail trading activity.
Values above 1.0 indicate net institutional buying, while readings below 1.0 suggest smart money is selling. HBAR's current 0.98 reading indicates slight institutional selling pressure.
Futures markets allow traders to speculate on cryptocurrency prices using leverage, amplifying both potential gains and losses. When prices move against leveraged positions, exchanges automatically close them to prevent further losses, creating the liquidation events that have plagued HBAR this week.
Critical Support Level Faces Testing
HBAR currently trades just above a crucial support level at $0.22, which has provided a floor for the token in recent trading sessions. Technical analysis suggests this level represents the last significant barrier before a potential drop to $0.18.
If selling pressure continues, a break below $0.22 could trigger additional algorithmic selling and stop-loss orders. Such a move would likely accelerate the token's decline and potentially trap more bullish traders in losing positions.
Conversely, any revival in buying interest could help HBAR recover toward the $0.26 resistance level. However, the combination of futures market stress and smart money exodus suggests upward momentum may prove difficult to sustain without significant positive catalysts.
Closing Thoughts
HBAR's 17% weekly decline and $2.7 million in long liquidations reflect severe bearish pressure in both spot and futures markets. The exodus of smart money investors and overwhelming dominance of long liquidations suggest continued weakness may persist unless market sentiment shifts dramatically.