HBAR Uptrend Remains Strong Amid ETF Rumors and New Partnerships

Hedera (HBAR) has seen a strong upward momentum, surging 20% and reaching a 38-month high of $0.399 on January 17. The rally has been fueled by several factors, including new partnerships, increased speculation about an HBAR ETF, and strong market activity. This has resulted in an impressive 25% rise in open interest in HBAR futures and a doubling of its 24-hour trading volume, which reached over $2.65 billion.

One major driver of HBAR’s recent performance is its expanded involvement in the Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization sector. Hedera’s new partnership with the World Gemological Institute and Vaultik, a luxury Web3 fintech, aims to tokenize $3 billion worth of diamonds and luxury goods on the Hedera blockchain. This partnership highlights Hedera’s growing presence in high-value asset tokenization, adding significant value to its ecosystem.

In addition to this, there have been rumors surrounding the approval of a spot HBAR ETF by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), especially as the incoming Trump administration is expected to adopt a more crypto-friendly stance. Canary, a fund manager, has already filed for an HBAR-focused ETF, and analysts believe the chances of approval in 2025 are high, especially compared to other assets like Ripple (XRP), Solana (SOL), and Litecoin (LTC).

Hedera’s technology is also gaining recognition for its utility in innovative applications. Its distributed ledger technology has recently been deployed in WISeKey’s next-generation satellites launched aboard a SpaceX rocket. This development added to the positive sentiment surrounding Hedera and further established its position as a cutting-edge blockchain platform.

HBAR has also attracted attention from large investors, with an uptick in whale activity. Data from HederaWatch shows a significant increase in the number of accounts holding between 100,000 and 10 million HBAR, indicating that large players are becoming more confident in the asset.

From a technical standpoint, HBAR’s price chart shows several bullish signals. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) has crossed above the signal line, indicating strong momentum. Additionally, HBAR is trading above the Supertrend line, which confirms that the bulls are in control. The 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) is above the 200-day EMA, suggesting potential for further gains. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) has not yet reached overbought levels, leaving room for continued upward movement.

Based on these technical indicators, analysts predict HBAR could target the $0.45 level, a price point it hasn’t reached since November 2021. A breakout above this level could push HBAR toward the psychological resistance level at $0.50. Additionally, the ongoing Bitcoin rally, driven by anticipation surrounding Trump’s inauguration, could provide further support for HBAR’s price.

At press time, HBAR was trading at $0.3724, up 11.9% from the previous day. The combination of strong partnerships, speculation around an HBAR ETF, and bullish technicals could drive continued growth for the asset in the coming weeks.