An April 14 report by crypto market maker Wintermute shows the growing maturity of the digital asset sector, with Bitcoin maintaining relative strength despite a broader market downturn.
While the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit their lowest levels in a year and bond yields surged to highs unseen since 2007, the flagship cryptocurrency held its ground.
Bitcoin showing strength during market downturn/ source: Wintermute
However, this reassuring narrative comes amid increasing signs of market manipulation and token collapses that continue to shake investor confidence.
Manipulation or Market Forces? Inside the $IP Token Flash Crash
Within the past 10 hours, the native token of Story Protocol ($IP) experienced sharp and unusual volatility, plunging 29% in minutes and sparking widespread speculation of price manipulation.
Rumors spread quickly across X (formerly Twitter), with users alleging that the team inflated the token’s price before executing large over-the-counter (OTC) sales.
$IP / Story Protocol rumored to be slinging OTC at discount buffet levels, anyone got confirmation?
Price action moving like someone found the backdoor liquidity faucet. Feels less like natural selling, more like insiders playing musical chairs before the music stops.
This theory gained traction as exchange inflows spiked, followed by aggressive selling pressure on the open market, dragging the token down rapidly.
This event comes just one day after Mantra ($OM) saw its price crash by 90% in a single trading session, a collapse reminiscent of the infamous Terra ($LUNA) and FTX disasters.
Unlike $OM, however, Story Protocol’s $IP token swiftly rebounded, recovering Monday’s losses to trade around $4.13 at press time.
In an April 14 post on X, DeFiance Capital founder Arthur Cheong warned that coordination between project teams and market makers is becoming alarmingly common.
He alleged that some token prices are being propped up artificially, creating a market where it’s increasingly difficult to distinguish genuine demand from behind-the-scenes manipulation.
Cheong also pointed out that many recent token generation events (TGEs) have underperformed considerably, with tokens falling 70% to 90% shortly after launch.
Can Story Protocol Deliver on Its Web3 IP Vision Amid Price Turmoil?
Story Protocol is a blockchain startup that raised over $80 million in venture funding, with backing from a16z crypto, to build an open platform that tracks and monetizes intellectual property (IP).
Launched in 2023, the protocol seeks to “democratize” IP creation with a global, extensible IP vault.
The February launch of its mainnet and native $IP token was accompanied by listings on major exchanges, including Coinbase, OKX, Bybit, and Bitget, with an initial price of $1.
Story’s Public Mainnet launches on Thursday, February 13th.$IP claim and checker go live on the same day.
Through this collaboration, Story Protocol offers identity-linked, blockchain-verified IP protection using human-readable domains like “satoshi.ip”, empowering creators to authenticate, license, and monetize their work.
Technical Outlook: $IP Token Prepares for Bullish Reversal
The 4-hour chart of $IP/$USDT suggests that the recent price volatility may have catalyzed a bullish reversal.
The sharp bounce from the $2.96 low, marked by a strong bullish engulfing candle, broke out of the previous consolidation range ($3.60–$3.80), indicating renewed buyer interest.
$IP $2.96 low forms local support for a bullish reversal/ Source: TradingView
This move is further supported by the RSI, which has climbed to 55.39, pushing above the neutral 50 level and confirming a shift in momentum toward the bulls.
The chart still identifies resistance clusters marked with red horizontal lines around the $4.60 – $5.20 range. A sustained move above these levels would likely indicate a more extended trend reversal.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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By Nermeen Nabil Khear 
