Polkadot price retests $1.30 but bearish pressure remains

Polkadot (DOT) has surged 12% over the last 24 hours, reaching $1.30 amid heightened trading activity as daily volume spiked 40% to $341 million, reflecting renewed interest in buying.

Although bearish forces linger, a key technical indicator shows a potential upside continuation after bouncing from oversold conditions.

DOT's intraday gain may alsso energize bullish sentiment in the short term, with the altcoin benefitting from a resilient Bitcoin. BTC currently hovers around $74,000 after retesting highs of $76,000 amid the latest developments in the US-Iran ceasefire talks.

A surge for equities, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq wiping out losses seen after the war broke out on February 28.

DOT price reaction post Hyperbridge exploit

Polkadot faced a notable security breach on its cross-chain bridge last week, resulting in losses of around $269,000. The Hyperbridge attacker minted 1 billion DOT tokens on the Ethereum network, which they looked to swiftly launder through Tornado Cash, raising alarm across the ecosystem.

Most importantly, the exploit highlighted vulnerabilities in cross-chain infrastructure, and prominent exchanges like Upbit and Bithumb temporarily suspended DOT deposits to prevent further illicit activity.

Despite the incident, DOT’s price demonstrated resilience. Polkadot’s announcement quickly calmed nerves, with the team noting via X:

“The exploit only affects DOT on Ethereum that is bridged through Hyperbridge and does not affect DOT in the Polkadot ecosystem, or DOT bridged through other bridges. Polkadot, its parachains, and native DOT remain secure and unaffected.”

Polkadot price analysis

Although the token dipped briefly below $1.20 in the immediate aftermath, bargain hunters stepped in and have helped stabilize the asset. Market observers note that the swift response helped contain panic selling, with on-chain data showing increased staking activity as holders locked in positions.

The DOT token maintains a bearish technical posture, characterized by sustained selling pressure and positioning below critical trendlines.

Short-term forecasts suggest consolidation within the $1.24-$1.50 corridor, as buyers struggle to breach overhead resistance.

Analysts say key momentum indicators reinforce the downtrend outlook, including the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) and Average Directional Index (ADX).

However, an oversold bounce of the Relative Strength Index (RSI), currently at 47, indicates selling exhaustion.

From a chart perspective, DOT trades beneath the 50-day and 200-day exponential moving averages (EMAs). The 50-day EMA currently acts as the immediate resistance near $1.36.

A breakout above this level could allow buyers to target $1.50, while the 200-day EMA sits around $2.08. However, failure might extend losses toward the $1.10 support.

Polkadot traded to its all-time low of $1.13 on Feb 6, 2026. For an all-time high, you have to go back to 2021, when DOT hit highs of $55 in November. The next sessions will provide further clarity on Polkadot's price bias.