Deep Dive
1. Upbit Hack Impact (Bearish)
Overview: South Korea’s Upbit exchange suffered a $36M Solana-network exploit on November 27, 2025, affecting LAYER and other tokens. Upbit froze ~12B won ($8–9M) in LAYER on-chain to mitigate losses (Bitcoinist).
What this means:
- The hack disrupted LAYER liquidity, as Upbit handles ~80% of South Korea’s crypto volume.
- Traders likely dumped LAYER due to fears of prolonged withdrawal freezes or further security issues.
Key watch: Resumption of LAYER deposits/withdrawals on Upbit, currently halted pending security audits.
2. Technical Breakdown (Bearish)
Overview: LAYER broke below its 7-day SMA ($0.215) and Fibonacci 23.6% retracement ($0.312), accelerating selling pressure.
What this means:
- MACD histogram: Turned positive (+0.0007669) but remains below the signal line, signaling weak momentum.
- RSI-14: At 47.85 (neutral), but failure to hold $0.21 support risks a retest of the 2025 low ($0.184).
Key watch: A sustained close above $0.215 could stabilize prices, while a drop below $0.184 may trigger panic selling.
3. Macro Sentiment Drag (Bearish)
Overview: Crypto Fear & Greed Index sits at 27 (“Fear”), with Bitcoin dominance rising to 58.69%, pressuring altcoins.
What this means:
- Investors rotated into Bitcoin amid market uncertainty, starving alts like LAYER of liquidity.
- LAYER’s 24h volume surged 75% to $84.6M, suggesting capitulation rather than accumulation.
Conclusion
LAYER’s decline reflects a perfect storm of exchange-driven liquidity shocks, technical breakdowns, and risk-off sentiment. While the protocol’s long-term fundamentals (e.g., InfiniSVM scalability) remain intact, short-term recovery hinges on Upbit resuming operations and broader market stabilization.
Key watch: Upbit’s post-audit announcement and Bitcoin’s price action – a BTC rebound could lift oversold alts like LAYER.