Internet Computer [ICP] is on a strong upside run, defying the market trend. After falling to $2.90 and breaching the $3 support, the altcoin bounced back, defended the price level, and climbed to a four-month high of $3.40.
At press time, Internet Computer was trading around $3.30, up 12.5% on the daily charts. With the uptick, ICP flipped its short-term moving averages.
Over the same period, the altcoins volume rose 61%, reflecting higher market activity. Equally, the daily turnover also made an upswing, rising to $45 million for the first time since June.
This implied that the market was driven by intense buying pressure.
Whys Internet Computer surging now？
ICP saw renewed bullish momentum amid intense debate on freezing stolen funds.
After Bitget attackers drained over $387.5 million, CEO Gracy Chen called on THORChain to refuse service to addresses linked to attackers.
However, THORChain refused, saying its network mechanism is designed to protect the protocol as a whole and not to selectively freeze specific addresses.
After THORchain refused to freeze stolen funds, Dominic, founder of DFINITY, responded. He stated that he would support ICPs Network Nervous System (NNS) governance proposal to freeze stolen funds.
In this aspect, he signaled support for interchain collaboration to deter theft. After rising support for the security measure, the market responded positively with demand for Internet Computer recovering.
Speculators move with the news
Amid the raging debate, demand for ICP surged, especially on the derivatives side. The altcoins Open Interest jumped 18% to $121 million while the volume rose 66% to $189 million.
Source: CoinGlass
The rising OI alongside volume implied higher participation as traders opened new positions. Meanwhile, the Long/Short Ratio on Binance rose to 1.8, with Binance Top Traders ratios hitting 3.5 and 2.4.
Profit-takers join the party
With Internet Computer jumping to May levels, holders returned to cash out these gains.
The altcoins netflow jumped to $1.3 million, marking a reversal from -$448k the previous day. It suggested that more holders sold on exchanges as the market rebounded.
Source: Coinglass
Often, when the market sees rising sell-side activity during an activity, the trend tends to collapse.
Whats next？
Currently, market momentum leads bullishly. The price hike saw ICP flip the 21-day moving averages, reflecting strong pressure to the upside.