AI16Z near $0.10 after 10% drop – Could whales spark reversal?

ambcryptoPublished on 2025-08-26Last updated on 2025-08-26

Key Takeaways

AI coin struggle in the last 24 hours with AI16Z in the lead. Liquidity below recent price action could force another drop but buyers were stepping up.


The broader cryptocurrency market was in decline, but AI-focused tokens bore the brunt of the sell-off as investors rotated capital out of the sector.

The hype surrounding Solana [SOL] -based AI projects was fading rapidly, with bearish sentiment accelerating the drop.

At press time, the total market capitalization of AI coins had fallen to $30.70 billion, marking a 3% decline on the day.

Trading volume also saw a sharp decrease, plunging 15%, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Even large-cap AI tokens weren’t spared, suffering similar losses.

One notable example, ai16Z [AI16Z] , had dropped 10% at the time of writing. Despite the steep decline, its price was hovering near a potentially favorable support zone, suggesting a possible rebound opportunity.

AI16Z at a crossroad: Breakout or Breakdown?

AI16Z price has been trading in a triangle pattern since the start of April. The price has failed several times to break above the slanting resistance since the high on the 12th of May.

Price was trading below the SuperTrend indicator but it could reverse as the pattern nears breakout. The AI coin was now at a zone that saw it surge about 300% in only one month.

Alternatively a breakdown below $0.10 could trigger more sell-off. The feeling around AI16Z was mixed as price action was bearish but on-chain metrics were shifting.

ai16zai16z

Source: TradingView

Looking at the liquidation heatmap, AI16Z was forming deeper liquidity levels below $0.10 than any other level.

The most dominant being at $0.99. This indicated that the odds of a further drop were high as price tends to follow liquidity.

Some traders could exit their shorts while others take their longs just below this $0.10 level. This would trigger a reversal. If more longs got liquidated, sharper drops could be triggered.

ai16zai16z

Source: CoinGlass

On the other end, a liquidation cluster was building at $0.116 level. The importance of $0.10 was supported by the on-chain activity at the level.

Whale orders surge as buyers step up

Looking at on-chain data on AI16Z, the Spot and Futures taker CVD was buyer dominant since end of June. The altcoin had stayed neutral since February suggesting consolidation period.

The new 90-day Volume Delta was an indication that bias was starting to shift despite the drastic drops.

ai16z AI crypto coinsai16z AI crypto coins

Source: CryptoQuant

Also, whale orders also spiked each time AI16Z has traded at or below $0.10 per CryptoQuant data.  This was an indication of an accumulation zone.

Retail activity was slow, they are always late to the party.

Altogether, on-chain signals could be hinting at a potential reversal for AI16Z. However, traders needed to watch the direction of the breakout to time entries.

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