The Neo (NEO) price is in focus as the cryptocurrency slips despite a broader market rebound, and as it tests a key medium-term uptrend.
NEO was last changing hands just above $16, having traded as low as $15.35 on Wednesday.
Neo is a smart contract blockchain that was launched back in 2014, before rebranding to the name Neo in 2017.
As per CoinMarketCap, its market cap was last just over $1.1 billion.
Despite its age, Neo has failed to catch on like other smart contract blockchains like Ethereum.
Indeed, it has never been able to recover to the record high it hit near $200 in 2018.
At the peak of the 2021 bull run, it only managed to briefly surpass $140.
At current levels, it remains close to 90% down from these highs, and 92% down from its 2018 highs.
NEO’s lack of adoption is evident when examining the trade value locked (TVL) in its smart contracts.
As per DeFi Llama, its TVL was last only $63 million, giving it a paltry ranking of 62nd in crypto.
A low TVL suggests the blockchain has failed to develop sufficiently useful/attractive DeFi protocols to attract investors.
That a chain with such weak adoption can achieve a market cap of over $1 billion shows how irrational crypto markets can be.
But Neo might not have a $1 billion market cap for long. Indeed, the Neo price appears to be on the verge of a bearish technical breakout that could see it quickly shed 40% of its value.
NEO has been moving higher according to an uptrend since the January lows.
But this uptrend looks like it’s about to break. And that could open the door to a drop all the way back to $10.
Broader crypto market conditions could well remain bearish in wake of Bitcoin’s recent drop under $60,000.
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