HIVE has slipped to nine cents.

We've gotten near 9 cents a few times, but in past visits to this level, price would tag $0.10, maybe slightly below, then bounce quickly, and at least pretend there was a floor. This time, there’s no bounce. Just... holding. Barely...

That raises an uncomfortable question: is this actual support forming, or simply a pause before nine cents finally gives way?

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This level has been tested repeatedly in the past few weeks, and every prior visit brought in buyers quickly enough to force a reaction. Even weak hands could point to the chart and say, “See? Ten cents holds.”

What we’re seeing now feels more like indifference than defense. There’s no obvious rush of buyers stepping in. No sharp rejection wick. Just a flatline hover.

That can mean two very different things. The optimistic read is that sellers are exhausted. Nobody is panicking, but nobody is dumping either. Price compresses, volatility dies, and support quietly builds before the next move higher. This kind of boring price action often appears near long-term bottoms, not tops.

The pessimistic read is simpler: there just aren’t enough buyers left. Everyone who wanted to defend ten cents already did so on the previous tests. What remains is a market waiting for one decent sell wall or one bad headline to push it through.

And once a level like this breaks cleanly, it usually doesn’t stop at one tick lower. It could be down to 6 cents next.

Fundamentally, nothing dramatic has changed. HIVE still produces blocks, rewards still flow, the ecosystem still functions. But sentiment matters, and sentiment has been ground down for a long time. Inflation, emissions, governance drama, DHF abuse and rally cars, and a general risk-off mood in crypto all weigh heavier when price is already this low.

At these levels, the market isn’t asking whether HIVE is dead. It’s asking whether anyone still cares enough to defend it.

If nine cents holds and we see even a modest reaction—higher lows, increasing volume, some sign of accumulation—this range may end up looking like a classic basing zone in hindsight. Ugly, slow, boring… and necessary.

If nine cents breaks, the chart stops offering comfort. Below here, history thins out quickly, and price discovery becomes a lot less friendly.

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For now, all we really have is a standoff.

No bounce, no collapse, just a market sitting on a line, daring someone to make the next move.

Like a dummy, I bought some. WIll you?

❦

David is an American teacher and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Bluesky. 【Support @dbooster with Hive SBI】