RIVER Price Hits $48 Record High Amid Rising Market Manipulation Scrutiny
- RIVER hits $48.74, yet slowing volume signals softer conviction behind the advance.
- Derivatives activity surges as futures outpace spot by wide margins during the rally.
- Overbought readings and tight resistance near $50 raise caution around trend durability.
RIVER climbed to another record on Wednesday, stretching a rally that has moved faster than most mid-cap tokens this month. The surge pushed the asset deeper into market conversation, though the tone around it shifted as questions about trading behavior gained more traction.
According to CoinMarketCap figures, the token briefly touched $48.74 in early dealings before easing back into a narrower band. By mid-morning, the RIVER price hovered near $46.69, up 15.47% on the day.
Market capitalization stood at roughly $915 million, placing the asset among the strongest mid-cap performers. Weekly gains reached about 122%, while year-on-year performance exceeded 1,300%, highlighting the scale and speed of the advance.
Rally Builds as Trading Activity Slows
Even with the breakout, activity across exchanges showed signs of cooling. Trading volume over the past 24 hours dropped roughly 35% to about $70 million. The decline did not derail the trend but added a layer of caution, especially given how quickly the RIVER price has moved.
Volume thinning at fresh highs tends to raise questions rather than settle them. Technically, the market sits in stretched territory. At press time, RIVER is holding above the 7/8 Murrey Math band around $43, a region traders follow as a short-term line where a move can either stabilize or flip direction.
Source: TradingView
Its role as a support zone has held so far, giving the broader trend some footing even as momentum indicators push deeper into overheated terrain. On the other hand, a ceiling now forms just ahead.
The 8/8 Murrey Math line near $50 marks the next major obstacle, a level that often becomes a stalling point after rapid swings. Historically, this zone marks areas where strong trends either pause or retrace, especially after rapid vertical advances.
Momentum Stretches as Key Support Levels Come Into Focus
Meanwhile, momentum indicators underscore the stretched setup. The daily Relative Strength Index has climbed to about 80, placing the market firmly in overbought territory. Such readings typically indicate limited near-term upside and raise the likelihood of consolidation rather than continued acceleration.
Regardless, should the trend slip, nearby support levels are well mapped. A break below the 7/8 zone on the Murrey Math line would expose the 6/8 level near $37.50. The next pocket sits around the 5/8 band at $31.25, followed by the 4/8 layer at roughly $25, a structural marker that could carry weight if broader conditions weaken.
Related: HYPE Slides 8% as Price Tests Key Support
Leverage Activity Draws Sharper Attention
Derivatives data circulating online showed a wide gap between futures and spot markets. CoinGlass noted that, at times, futures volume exceeded spot volume by more than eightyfold, a ratio that typically draws scrutiny during fast price swings.
The firm further outlined how negative funding rates can be used to build crowded short positioning, setting the stage for sharp upside bursts once liquidations begin. In RIVER’s case, the pattern resembled similar episodes seen across smaller tokens over recent years, where volatility and leverage fed on each other until the cycle reset.
“This process can repeat multiple times: • manufacture extreme funding, attract consensus positioning, force liquidation, resetIt’s price engineering, not price discovery,” CoinGlass noted in an X post.
As the RIVER price holds near record levels, the combination of steep gains, cooling volume, and elevated leverage metrics has placed the token under intensified observation. Market data now remains the primary lens through which participants assess whether recent price behavior can sustain its pace under closer scrutiny.
