As the basis line (green) of the Bollinger Bands (BB) constricted the revival attempts for nearly seven weeks, Zcash [ZEC] bears pulled the altcoin down to yearly lows last week. The basis line has crippled the buyers’ ability to sustain a close near the upper band of the BB.

With the current rising wedge setup being solid, a recovery toward the $113-level could see a slowdown. At press time, ZEC traded at $103.9, down by 2.63% in the last 24 hours.

ZEC Daily Chart

Since its multi-month April highs, ZEC bears have persistently steered the price south after propelling an up-channel breakdown. On its way down, the price action underwent strong liquidations whilst the basis line of the BB constricted the bullish comebacks.

Consequently, the alt was down by nearly 67.42% (from 28 Mar) and dropped to hit its 16-month low on 12 May. After the $83-baseline posed some hurdles for the sellers, the bulls quickly provoked a short-term string of green candles. After forming a morning star candlestick pattern, the altcoin continued its oscillation in a bearish rising wedge. 

A continued trajectory in the current pattern could face strong barriers in the $113-zone. This area represented a host of barriers that includes the upper fence of the Pitchfork, the 38.2% Fiboancci resistance. Any reversal from this zone could result in a breakout from the wedge and find testing grounds in the $96-zone. In an unlikely event of invalidating the strong bearish tendencies, any close above the $113-level could test the $126-level.

Rationale

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The Relative Strength Index depicted a gradual uptrend from its oversold lows. As far as the 41-support stood strong, the buyers still had conceivable means to stall the near-term liquidations. But with the -DI line looking north, keeping a check on the selling pressure could be a menacing task for the bulls.

Conclusion

In light of the confluence of multiple hurdles in the $113-zone, ZEC could see a short-term pullback. Any close below the wedge could result in a pathway to its $96-zone lows. To alter the existing narrative, the bulls have to find a spot beyond its Pitchfork and the 38.2% level.

Finally, keeping an eye on Bitcoin’s movement and the broader sentiment would be important to complement the aforementioned analysis.

Polkadot’s native cryptocurrency DOT has so far managed to remain on the list of top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap. The latest market events have forced investors to re-evaluate their portfolios in favor of digital currencies that have strong fundamentals, but does DOT fit these criteria?

Polkadot’s multi-chain approach can provide better insights into whether investors consider DOT to be worth having in their portfolio. It announced that interoperability and multi-chain as the future of blockchains are among the key areas of focus during the WEF22 conference on 16 May.

Polkadot’s ecosystem has been growing rapidly as it continues to onboard more projects through para-chain auctions. While this approach bolsters the interoperability agenda, it also boosts organic demand for DOT from projects running as parachains. The para-chain approach allows the community to support projects that align with Polkado’s values and can provide value to the ecosystem.

DOT’s price action and on-chain metrics 

Although DOT is slated to leverage organic growth as the Polkadot ecosystem continues growing, it is also heavily correlated with Bitcoin. It struggled to maintain a healthy recovery after last week’s market crash in which it bottomed out at $7.30. However, it bounced back to $10.07 at the time of writing.

It seems DOT’s recovery is currently limited by low buying volumes. It is currently trading at a 58% discount from its April 2022 top. DOT’s price is also at an 82% discount from its current ATH of $55.09 which it achieved in November 2021.

DOT’s supply held by whales metric registered an uptick between 16 May and 17 May, courtesy of slight accumulation. However, the same metric recorded outflows which have so far pushed back to monthly lows. The metric shows that whales are selling and it reflects the lack of adequate buying volumes and failure to register a significant rally.

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Source: Santiment

DOT’s developer metric achieved a significant uptick and is currently in its highest monthly range. The uptick is due to the recently announced Polkadot which also highlights the network’s commitment to security.