Story (IP) is a Layer-1 blockchain designed specifically to bring intellectual property (IP) on-chain and turn it into programmable assets. In early 2026, the IP token staged a strong recovery. The price doubled from a local low near $1.50 to above $3.00.
What is driving this rebound? And is it strong enough to continue in the coming months?
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Korean Traders Push IP Higher
Trading data indicate that South Korean traders contributed the most to IP’s recent price surge.
CoinGecko data shows that IP’s daily trading volume exceeded $300 million on January 13. This was the highest level since the sell-off in October last year, when IP dropped more than 80% in a single day.
Upbit alone accounted for more than 47% of total trading volume. Upbit is one of South Korea’s largest crypto exchanges. This highlights that Korean traders were the main force behind IP’s rally.
On Upbit, the IP/KRW pair also represented more than 12% of total trading activity. It ranked second only to XRP/KRW.
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However, Upbit’s dominance suggests that the price increase came mainly from regional demand rather than global adoption.
Some analysts also believe that whales played a role in driving this rally.
“Story Protocol has had the biggest rise this week. With a price increase of over 30%, IP has rallied due to a narrative revival. Massive trading volume came in as new investors and whales joined the project,” Investor Sjuul | AltCryptoGems said.
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IP User Data Shows No Breakout
Despite the price surge, on-chain data tells a different story. The rally lacks strong fundamental support.
Data from Storyscan indicates that the number of active accounts on the Story network has remained relatively unchanged in recent months.
The figure fell from more than 10,000 last year to fewer than 500 today. This represents a decline of about 95%. The number of daily new users on the Layer-1 network has also remained almost flat. The number stays below 100 per day. It is far lower than the average of more than 2,000 per day seen in August and September last year.
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These figures suggest that the rally is primarily driven by speculation and increased trading volume. It does not reflect real network growth, such as more tokenized IP or stronger real-world usage.
Meanwhile, technical analysts are warning about downside risks. On the daily timeframe, IP is approaching a key resistance zone between $3.00 and $3.30.
“On the daily timeframe, IP is moving up with strong candles and solid indicators. However, the price is now close to the $3.0–$3.3 resistance zone. A breakout could confirm a change of character and start a bullish trend. Wait for confirmation and do not rush,” CryptoPulse commented.
Despite the recent doubling in price and the surge in volume, IP remains down about 80% from its $15 peak last year. The long-term growth of this altcoin will depend on real user adoption and demand for decentralized IP management.
