Story (IP) is a layer 1 blockchain specifically designed to bring intellectual property (IP) on-chain and turn it into programmable assets. In early 2026, IP tokens showed a strong recovery. The price doubled from a local low of around $1.50 to over $3.00.
What is causing this rebound? And will it be strong enough to continue for the next few months?
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Korean traders further enhance their intellectual property
According to trading data, South Korean traders contributed most to IP’s recent price surge.
IP’s daily trading volume exceeded $300 million on January 13, according to CoinGecko data. This was the highest level since last October’s plunge, when IP fell more than 80% in a single day.
Upbit alone accounted for over 47% of the total trading volume. Upbit is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea. This highlights that Korean traders were the main force behind the rise in IP.
On Upbit, the IP/KRW pair also accounted for over 12% of the total trading volume. It ranked second after XRP/KRW.
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However, Upbit’s dominance suggests that the price increase is primarily due to local demand rather than global adoption.
Some analysts believe that whales played a role in facilitating this rise.
“Story Protocol has seen the biggest rise this week, with the price up over 30% and the return of Story driving the IP higher. New investors and whales have joined the project, resulting in heavy trading volume,” said investor Sjuul | AltCryptoGems said.
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IP user data does not show breakouts
Despite the price hike, on-chain data tells a different story. Bull markets lack strong fundamental support.
Data from Storyscan shows that the number of active accounts on the Story network has remained relatively unchanged in recent months.
That number has fallen from more than 10,000 last year to less than 500 now. This corresponds to a reduction of approximately 95%. The number of daily new users on Layer 1 networks has also remained roughly flat. The number remains below 100 per day. This is significantly lower than the daily average of more than 2,000 people in August and September last year.
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These numbers suggest that this rise is primarily driven by speculation and increased trading volumes. This does not reflect actual network growth, such as increased tokenization of IP or enhanced real-world usage.
Meanwhile, technical analysts are warning of downside risks. On the daily time frame, IP is approaching a key resistance zone between $3.00 and $3.30.
“In the daily time frame, IP is rising with strong candlesticks and solid indicators. However, the price is now approaching the $3.0-$3.3 resistance zone. The breakout confirms the change in character and a bullish trend could begin. Wait for confirmation and do not rush,” commented CryptoPulse.
Despite the recent price doubling and sales volume surge, IP remains down about 80% from last year’s peak of $15. The long-term growth of this altcoin will depend on real user adoption and demand for decentralized IP management.
