Deep Dive
1. KuCoin Margin Trading Delisting (Bearish Impact)
Overview: KuCoin announced on November 18, 2025, the removal of IOST from margin trading effective November 26. This triggered mandatory liquidations, repayments, and transfers of IOST from margin accounts, creating concentrated selling pressure.
What this means: Margin traders likely offloaded IOST positions to avoid forced closures, while reduced access to leverage diminished speculative demand. The 24h trading volume fell 33% to $12.68M, signaling liquidity contraction post-delisting.
What to look out for: Whether other exchanges follow KuCoin’s delisting – a risk given IOST’s -41% 60d return.
2. Technical Downtrend Acceleration (Bearish Impact)
Overview: IOST broke below the 30-day SMA ($0.0019898) and Fibonacci 38.2% retracement ($0.0021736). The RSI-7 at 40.61 confirms bearish momentum but isn’t oversold yet.
What this means: Technical traders may interpret this as a signal to exit, especially with the 200-day SMA far above at $0.0031211. The pivot point at $0.0018562 now acts as resistance, with bears targeting the swing low of $0.0016281.
3. Altcoin Weakness Amid Risk Aversion (Mixed Impact)
Overview: Bitcoin dominance rose to 58.64%, while the Altcoin Season Index sits at 20 (“Bitcoin Season”). The crypto Fear & Greed Index is at 21/100, reflecting capital rotation to perceived safer assets.
What this means: IOST’s -8.63% 30d return aligns with altcoins broadly underperforming BTC (-11.74% sector-wide). However, its -44% 90d drop suggests coin-specific issues like supply inflation (circulating supply up 7% YoY per Upbit data).
Conclusion
IOST’s decline reflects a triple threat: exchange-driven selloffs, technical breakdowns, and sector-wide risk aversion. While the $3M buyback (July 2025) and RWA partnerships offer long-term potential, short-term risks dominate.
Key watch: Can IOST hold the $0.0016281 Fibonacci swing low, or will supply inflation and low liquidity trigger new yearly lows?