Binance Coin has come under intense pressure in the past few weeks as short bets in the futures market increased. BNB token was trading at $244 on Monday, lower than last week’s high of $261. In all, it has dropped by over 31% from the highest level this year.
BNB loses momentum
Most cryptocurrencies jumped sharply last week after the conclusion of the Ripple vs SEC case. BNB coin, on the other hand, remained in a tight range. It jumped to a high of $261.40 and then erased most of those gains.
Binance Coin has remained under pressure mostly because of the ongoing case, which was brought about by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC accused Binance of committing over 10 crimes, including operating a broker-dealer in the United States without following the law.
It is too early to predict how the lawsuit will develop and how long it will take. Legal experts I have talked to say that the SEC has a relatively solid case against Binance.
Another reason why BNB price is struggling is a recent report that Binance had fired over 1,000 employees recently. Like other crypto companies, Binance has gone through major challenges because of the crypto winter.
Despite this, there is a likelihood that the company’s finances are improving as cryptocurrencies recover. Binane has also seen inflows in the past few weeks. According to DeFi Llama, it has had over $2.9 billion in inflows in the past 30 days. Its assets now stands at over $64 billion.
Meanwhile, data shows that many players in the perpetual futures market are short the BNB coin. Data compiled by CoinGlass shows that open interest is weighted heavily towards the short-sellers. In a note, an analyst told Coindesk:
“The sentiment has worsened due to the recent high-profile staff exits, inconsistencies related to BCH withdrawals from Binance.US and the pending Department of Justice case against Binance’s CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.”
BNB price prediction
The daily chart shows that the BNB crypto price has been in a strong bearish trend in the past few months. Most recently, the coin has formed what looks like a bearish flag pattern. In price action analysis, this pattern is usually a bearish sign.
BNB coin has moved below the 50-day and 25-day moving averages. Therefore, because of the descending flag pattern, the coin will likely have a bearish breakout in the near term. If this happens, the next level to watch will be at $220.
