MANA, Decentraland’s native cryptocurrency, has seen an impressive 70% price increase over the past week. This MANA crypto price surge is part of a broader rally in Metaverse-related tokens, which has caught the attention of the market.

While the development might have surprised some, a closer look by BeInCrypto provides insights into the catalysts behind this movement. This on-chain analysis looks at what could be next for the token. 

Decentraland Active Addresses, Volume Reach New Heights

The recent rally in MANA crypto price can be attributed to a significant increase in the token’s active addresses, which indicates heightened user interaction on the blockchain. Interestingly, this also matches the condition of The Sandbox (SAND), which was also one of the frontrunners of the Metaverse revival.

Active addresses measure the number of unique users successfully completing transactions. A rise in this metric signals increased engagement with the network, which is often considered bullish for a cryptocurrency. Conversely, a decline implies reduced traction, which is typically seen as bearish.

On November 20, MANA’s active addresses were around 810. Fast-forward a few days, and this figure has surged nearly fivefold, reflecting a growing interest in the token. This spike in activity likely provided the momentum for MANA’s price to climb from $0.40 to $0.70 — the highest level since March.

Following the development, Santiment data showed that MANA’s volume climbed to $1.57 billion. Volume represents the total value of a specific cryptocurrency traded over a defined period.

This metric reflects a coin’s level of activity and liquidity. A high trading volume indicates notable buying and selling, which often suggests strong market participation. On the other hand, low volume may signify reduced activity, leading to weaker market interest.

Therefore, the hike in the token’s volume validated the signs shown by the active addresses. However, since MANA’s price has dropped from its recent peak, it could be challenging to keep up with the uptrend, with this analysis suggesting that another pullback could be close.

MANA Price Prediction: Pullback Imminent

From an on-chain perspective, the MANA crypto price rally might have hit a local top. This prediction is based on the signs shown by the In/Out of Money Around Price (IOMAP).

The IOMAP is a key metric that analyzes the distribution of cryptocurrency holders based on whether their holdings are in profit, loss, or at breakeven. It also provides insights into potential support and resistance levels in the market.

When there are large clusters “out of the money,” this indicates addresses holding at a higher price than the current market value. Such areas often act as resistance. Conversely, Large clusters “in the money” typically act as support, as holders may buy more or hesitate to sell, expecting further price gains.

For MANA, approximately 36.47 million tokens held by addresses that accumulated near $0.70 are currently “out of the money.” This volume surpasses the tokens held between $0.61 and $0.68, marking that range as a key resistance zone.

As such, the MANA crypto price might experience retracement. If that is the case, then the cryptocurrency’s value could drop to $0.61 in the short term. 

However, if buying pressure increases and volume outpaces the one at $0.70, this might not happen. Instead, MANA could climb to $0.80.

Since its launch earlier this year, the meme coin platform Pump.fun has become a notable name in the crypto industry. This platform allows users, regardless of their technical know-how, to create and launch meme coins swiftly.

However, the live-streaming feature has led to serious controversies and calls for a ban due to inappropriate content and financial malfeasance.

Originally, Pump.fun’s livestream was intended to let developers promote their meme coins. Regrettably, some users have misused it to broadcast extreme and harmful activities. A notable incident involved a developer promoting self-harm if his cryptocurrency reached a $25 million market cap.

Additionally, some users threaten to harm pets or even humans if their coins do not achieve certain market capitalization goals.

The situation reached a critical point when Beau, a safety project manager at Pudgy Penguins, reported an alarming livestream. In it, an individual threatened to hang themselves if their coin did not reach a specific market cap.

“Shut down the livestream feature. This is out of control,” Beau stated.

The platform has also been a hotbed for financial scams, prominently featuring “rug pulls.” A recent case involved a school-aged individual who created a meme coin named QUANT, quickly amassing $30,000 and then exiting the project, leaving investors with worthless digital tokens. This led to the kid’s doxxing, with his personal information and that of his family maliciously shared online.

In response to these incidents, some community members have called for the complete shutdown of the platform. Conversely, others suggest that simply disabling the livestream function might suffice.

Eddie, a legal intern, strongly criticized the platform’s governance. He believes that turning off the livestreams or moderating them is crucial.

“There is an art to shock value on stream. Simply sharing nudity or other shocking and even horrific content is not innately interesting. People seek stories and novel concepts that engage them. The content shared on pump livestreams at the moment are not only uninteresting, but conceptually lazy,” Eddie said.

Yet Alon, a Pump.fun executive, claims that the platform’s content has been moderated since day one.

“We have a large team of moderators working around the clock and an internal team of engineers that’s working on helping us deal with increased scale of coins, streams, and comments. I admit that our moderation isn’t perfect, so if you’re aware of a coin where moderation isn’t enforced, please report it in our support channels immediately,” Alon said.

The ongoing debate reflects the platform’s dilemma. While it offers users significant creative freedom, it also poses serious risks without stringent moderation.

Now, the community and stakeholders await decisive action. The call for stronger moderation is loud and clear, aiming to protect both the platform’s integrity and its users from further harm.

Despite these controversies, Pump.fun has continued to perform well financially. Data from DefiLlama shows that the platform has amassed over $215 million in revenue since March 2024.

Furthermore, the platform has facilitated the deployment of more than 3.8 million meme coins.