Is LAB’s current rally real? Price rises 16% on Futures buying

LAB’s [LAB] price rose by double digits in the past 24 hours, clocking more than 16% in gains.

The rally comes after weeks of scrutiny following a call-out by crypto investigator ZachXBT for an alleged scam. ZachXBT noted irregularities in the supply dynamics of the token, but that seems to have cooled off.

LAB price teases breakout but drops back

The rally came after the altcoin broke out from a sideways consolidation that had lasted for 14 days. Before this consolidation, LAB had made an all-time high (ATH) of $7.77.

While the two-week price range denotes accumulation, these traders were doing so in a premium zone. As per the Fibonacci Retracement tool, LAB was trading above the 50% level, but its price had wicked below that level several times.

The Stochastic Momentum Index (SMI) was still trading above the neutral level while MACD bars indicated buyer strength.

However, LAB was struggling to stay above this breakout. The price is slowly returning to the range, though bulls are fighting to keep it above $4.87.

Futures’ positive inflows vs. Spot’s mixed flows

On the Futures market, CoinGlass data shows that capital inflows exceeded outflows. In the past 24 hours alone, derivative traders had pumped more than $8.46 million.

The 14-day price accumulation was evident on the Inflow/Outflow chart. The largest single-day accumulation was worth more than $114 million on the 2nd of May.

In total, over the two weeks, more than $633 million in capital had been leveraged.

Mixed activity characterized the spot market. As per Arkham, LAB tokens were leaving exchanges, signaling accumulation, and at the same time some were hitting the trading platforms.

For instance, a wallet withdrew thousands of LAB from Gate while almost equal tokens were deposited into KuCoin and AsterDEX exchanges.

The spot activity showed no clear direction, but the futures market was outright bullish.

LAB squeezed between liquidity clusters

Notably, LAB destroyed short orders, liquidating more than $4 million in the past 24 hours. As a result, LAB rallied to a daily high of $5.82, with more clusters forming between $5.50 and $6.

As such, the price is squeezed between liquidity clusters as more orders have formed between $4 and $5.

A liquidity sweep on the clusters on either side would amplify price movements in the direction of liquidity. In the case of shorts, LAB may reclaim its peak of $7.77, while for longs below $5, the price may drop to $4.

Final Summary

• LAB rallied 16% in 24 hours following a price breakout and capital inflows from the Futures market. 
• The price was squeezed between highly concentrated liquidity clusters, and a sweep on either cluster could define its next move.