Hedera's HBAR token experienced significant price swings in recent trading sessions, dropping 6% to $0.228 before rebounding sharply to $0.237, suggesting institutional buying at lower levels. The sell-off occurred during the hour of 19:00-20:00 on August 25, with volume spiking to 169.5 million tokens, indicating strong demand at the $0.228 support level.
However, broader market conditions remain challenging. HBAR has been consolidating in a range between $0.22 and $0.26 since early August after reaching a cycle peak of $0.30 on July 27. Technical indicators now show bearish signals emerging, with HBAR's weighted funding rate flipping negative for the first time in a week to -0.0016%, indicating increased short positioning.
Additionally, the Smart Money Index has declined steadily since August 22, reaching 0.98, suggesting reduced institutional accumulation. This creates tension between the apparent institutional support at $0.228 and the growing bearish technical indicators that threaten the key $0.22 support level.