HBAR was one of the best-performing cryptocurrencies on Monday, Dec. 2, amid significant whale accumulation and community hype surrounding the HBAR ecosystem.

Hedera (HBAR) rose 47% over the past day, exchanging hands at a seven-month high of $0.253 before shedding some of its gains and settling at $0.250 at press time. The altcoin’s recent rally extended its monthly gains to over 450% while its market cap stood at $9.65 billion.

Rumours are driving the HBAR rally

HBAR’s rally has been driven by its growing involvement in blockchain-powered federal payment systems. Hedera’s integration with the Federal Reserve’s FedNow payment network, facilitated by Dropp, enables real-time, secure, and efficient transactions.

Speculation has also emerged around Ripple’s potential involvement, with rumors suggesting an expansion of Hedera’s integration to include support for Ripple’s upcoming RLUSD stablecoin. If true, this could pave the way for an interoperability layer between HBAR and XRP, furthering their collaboration on global standards for CBDC and stablecoin settlements.

Further, HBAR traders are optimistic due to speculation surrounding the potential approval of a Hedera-focused exchange-traded fund filed by Canary Capital with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. With Gary Gensler stepping down as SEC chairman, a potential approval under Trump’s administration seems plausible. This could open the door for greater institutional investment, potentially driving further price growth for HBAR.

Rumors and recent developments appear to be driving heightened activity among whales. Data from HederaWatch highlights a sharp increase in accounts holding between 100,000 and 100 million HBAR, with those holding 100 million surging by over 20% since August.

HBAR’s price surge has been matched by a notable jump in trading activity and open interest. Within the last 24 hours, trading volume skyrocketed by 323% to $3.46 billion, while open interest climbed 76% to $324 million. The uptick indicates an influx of fresh capital into the market, potentially providing the momentum needed for continued price growth.

HBAR has also garnered significant retail attention, reaching its highest search interest in U.S. markets in five years, according to Google Trends.

HBAR is overbought

On the daily HBAR/USDT chart, HBAR’s price has climbed above both its 50-day and 200-day Simple Moving Averages, forming a golden cross. This is a strong bullish signal that often points to growing momentum and the potential for further price increases.

At the same time, the Relative Strength Index has hit 83, showing strong buying activity and confirming the bullish trend. However, an RSI above 70 typically signals that an asset is in overbought territory. This means HBAR might be due for a cooldown or a price pullback if the current momentum starts to slow down.

In case of a price reversal, the altcoin could find support at $0.1358, aligning with the middle Bollinger Band—a level previously tested as support during its drop on Nov. 25.

United States Securities and Exchange has targeted blockchain gaming platform Immutable potentially targeting its listing and private sales of the IMX token in 2021.

According to a Nov. 1 statement from Immutable, the SEC issued an “accelerated” Wells notice following an initial interaction where the SEC informed the company that a Wells notice would be sent “within the week,” but delivered it “within hours” instead.

Immutable highlighted the vague nature of the notice, stating that it “simply cited statutory provisions” with “fewer than 20 words of material explanation” and offered little meaningful detail about the investigation’s focus. The company believes the agency’s claims could be targeting the “listing and private sales” of its native IMX token in 2021.

Shortly after issuing the notice, the SEC reportedly engaged in a phone call with the firm, raising concerns over a 2021 blog post in which Immutable detailed Huobi Ventures’ early investment in IMX at a pre-launch price of $0.10 issued at a “$10 pre-100:1 split”, stating that there had been no “exchange of value” in the deal.

Immutable disputes this claim, arguing that the investment was, in fact, legitimate and backed by “real consideration.” 

The firm added it is “confident in its position” regarding the classification of the IMX token, pushing back against what it described as the SEC “indiscriminately claiming that tokens across the industry are securities.” 

Immutable called for a “robust conversation to clarify facts” and expressed its willingness to challenge the SEC’s enforcement approach if necessary.

Reacting to the news, Immutable co-founder Robbie Ferguson reiterated the company’s position to “defend digital ownership in gaming” by joining contemporaries like Robinhood and OpenSea in defending against the SEC’s claims.

While a Wells notice does not guarantee that formal action will be taken, the development came as a blow to Immutable’s IMX token which was down more than 14% at press time.

The SEC, led by Chair Gary Gensler, has consistently gone after crypto firms for allegedly skirting securities laws. This has also sparked pushback from U.S. policymakers, who say Gensler is creating confusion in the digital asset space by introducing terms like “crypto asset security.”

Yet the regulator remains unfazed, recently issuing a Wells notice to Crypto.com. In response, Crypto.com filed a lawsuit challenging the commission.

The Indonesian Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency has extended the deadline for crypto exchanges to meet the necessary requirements to get their Physical Crypto Asset Traders license as part of a revised government bill.

In an Oct. 20 press release, the Indonesian Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency — known locally as Bappebti — announced that the deadline for crypto exchanges to meet the requirements needed for a Physical Crypto Asset Traders license.

Crypto exchanges have until the last week of Nov. 2024 to fulfill the registration requirements. The regulatory agency clarified that the extension only applies to crypto exchanges that are already listed under Prospective Crypto Asset Physical Traders.

The extension is part of the newly revised government bill, Bappebti Regulation Number 9 of 2024.

The new bill requires crypto exchanges to sign a partnership deal with a local government body and implement Know Your Transaction standards as well as grants trading opportunities for institutional entities.

Oscar Darmawan, CEO of major Indonesian crypto exchange INDODAX, expressed his gratitude to Bappebti for giving crypto exchanges more time to adjust to the regulations set by the government.

“This will also help strengthen the crypto industry as a whole by ensuring that every crypto exchange complies with the standards that have been set,” Oscar said in his statement to local media outlets on Oct. 20.

He explained that INDODAX is currently going through the validation process and is awaiting approval from Bappebti in order to get the license. Darmawan also assured that the exchange company will comply to the latest regulations.

Head of the Bureau of Legislation and Enforcement at Bappebti, Aldison stated that Regulation Number 9 2024 will act as a roadmap to regulating the crypto ecosystem in Indonesia. Among the changes made, Aldison highlighted how it accommodates institutions looking to trade in digital assets. Previously, only individual entities were mentioned in the bill.

“Legal entities and business entities can also become digital asset traders,” added Aldison.

He explained that licensed crypto exchanges are still required to sign a partnership agreement with the Indonesian Directorate General of Population and Civil Registration of the Ministry of Home Affairs, as per the new regulations.

In addition, crypto exchanges are obligated to list on the National Crypto Asset Futures Exchange and become a member of the Crypto Asset Clearing House. If not, they risk having their applications for the license revoked.

In an Oct. 18 press release about the new regulations, Bappebti aims to build a modern, adaptable and transparent crypto ecosystem.

“Bappebti will adjust existing regulations in accordance with the Commodity Futures Trading Law. The crypto industry is very fast and dynamic, so it requires an ecosystem that is strong and able to meet market needs,” said Ir. Kasan, Head of Bappebti.