Uniswap: Why UNI stalls below $6 even as whales keep buying

ambcryptoPublicado em 2026-01-17Última atualização em 2026-01-17

Resumo

Uniswap (UNI) has struggled on the price charts over the past three weeks, failing to rally despite the broader altcoin market showing strength. Although the 'UNIfication' proposal passed with overwhelming support in late December, subsequent developments like the 100 million UNI burn and fee adjustments were insufficient to drive bullish momentum. On-chain data from Santiment indicates that the top 100 largest wallets have been buying, accumulating 12.41 million UNI over eight weeks—a pattern that has historically preceded price increases. However, the token's price action remains bearish, with UNI trading below key moving averages. Short-term holders are taking profits during brief rallies, and weak demand has kept prices below $6. A drop below $4.73 would reinforce the bearish trend, suggesting cautious investors should wait for stronger signs of strength before entering.

Uniswap [UNI] faced a tough time on the price charts over the past three weeks. Many altcoins followed Bitcoin [BTC] higher in the first week of January, making strong gains. Some tokens continued to show strength.

UNI was the opposite. It showed bullish impetus a month ago, as the ‘UNIfication’ proposal crept closer to being passed. The vote concluded on the 25th of December and was passed with far more votes than the quorum required, highlighting its popularity.

The 100 million UNI burn, Uniswap Labs turning off frontend fees, and fee switches flipped on supported protocols were not enough to drive a rally. This relative weakness against Bitcoin and the wider market was concerning for bulls.

Analyzing the Uniswap on-chain and price action clues

In a post on X, crypto data intelligence platform Santiment pointed out that the top 100 largest wallets were accumulating. In the past 8 weeks, these wallets have added 12.41 million UNI tokens.

Their accumulation trends tie in well with the token’s price action, the post read. Going by past trends, the increased accumulation from the top wallets recently was awaiting a bullish reaction.

Will Uniswap prices rally from here?

The 180-day mean coin age plunged rapidly in the past three weeks. The dormant circulation metric also saw a large spike on the 26th of December. This signaled numerous previously idle tokens moving.

The mean coin age has not begun to trend higher, showing network-wide accumulation trends were lacking in the past two weeks. The 180-day MVRV ratio was still deeply negative, but it was the shorter-term MVRV that signaled a profit-taking threat.

Recently, the metric briefly moved into positive territory to show that short-term holders were at a profit. The demand was weak after the ‘UNIfication’ news, which saw prices slump below $6 once again, reflecting a lack of market conviction.

The price trend on the 1-day timeframe was firmly bearish. The failure to follow through after the breakout past $6 in December, combined with the A/D indicator, reflected sporadic buying pressure.

UNI was below its 20 and 50 DMAs. A drop below $4.73 would reinforce the bearish bias. Investors looking to buy UNI based on the top 100 wallets can use this level as their invalidation.

The more cautious investors can wait for the token to show strength before looking to buy it.


Final Thoughts

  • Santiment data showed that the top 100 wallets were accumulating UNI, a pattern that generally sees prices rally.
  • As things stand, this reaction hasn’t begun yet. On-chain metrics showed that short-term holders were happy to exit the market after a brief rally.

Perguntas relacionadas

QAccording to the article, what on-chain data did Santiment report about the top 100 UNI wallets?

ASantiment reported that the top 100 largest wallets have been accumulating UNI, adding 12.41 million tokens over the past 8 weeks.

QWhat was the outcome of the 'UNIfication' proposal vote that concluded on December 25th?

AThe 'UNIfication' proposal was passed with far more votes than the required quorum, highlighting its popularity.

QWhat does the article identify as a key bearish price level for UNI that would reinforce the negative bias?

AA drop below the $4.73 price level would reinforce the bearish bias for UNI.

QWhat did the 180-day mean coin age and dormant circulation metrics signal about UNI's network activity?

AThe 180-day mean coin age plunged rapidly, and the dormant circulation saw a large spike, signaling that numerous previously idle tokens were moving and that network-wide accumulation trends were lacking.

QWhy did the article state that the short-term MVRV ratio signaled a threat of profit-taking?

AThe short-term MVRV ratio briefly moved into positive territory, indicating that short-term holders were at a profit and were therefore a threat to sell and take those profits.

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