Landing

The market’s state right now is quite unexpected: multiple assets are trying to break through. However, there is not much bullish volume consolidation out there.

Key SHIB support

The much-discussed moon for Shiba Inu is not about prices soaring, rather, it is a significant historical ground support level that has repeatedly supported the token. SHIB is now trading close to $0.0000119, where it is pressed up against the lower edge of its long-running symmetrical triangle — where support has frequently been the final floor.

SHIB/USDT Chart by TradingView

When SHIB returns to its most crucial support zone, it is said to be moon landing. This level could either stabilize the market or pave the way for further declines. The chart structure of SHIB shows a narrowing triangle made up of stable well-defended support at $0.0000110-$0.0000115 and lower highs since August. Since each test has generated a lot of buyer interest in recent months, this area has essentially turned into SHIB’s moon base.

If bulls maintain this hold, they may be able to lay the groundwork for a subsequent attempt toward the pattern’s upper boundary, which is located closer to $0.0000140-$0.0000150. In the short term, however, moving averages are bearish. By hovering over the current price action, the 100-day and 200-day EMAs serve as layers of overhead resistance.

Momentum indicators, such the RSI — which is in the mid-40s and lacks directional conviction — support the fragile state. A decrease in trading volume also reflects participant hesitancy. SHIB could lose its moon ground support, which would be dangerous.

Prices could drop into the $0.0000090-$0.0000100 range, which would be levels not seen since the early summer, if there was a clear break below $0.0000110, invalidating the triangle. On the other hand, SHIB has a chance to rise again as long as the base holds and any advance above the descending resistance line could lead to a brief rally.

Dogecoin’s tense range

Dogecoin is currently trading in a tight and tense range around $0.23, and the market is giving the indication that a significant move may be imminent. DOGE has now settled into a compressed zone, situated directly between critical moving averages following a retracement from its late-September highs located around $0.30. Often, explosive volatility comes after this tight setup.

Shorter-term averages like the 20-day and 50-day EMAs also cluster close to DOGE, which is currently pinned between the 100-day EMA and the 200-day EMA on the chart. This effectively traps price action by creating a congestion zone. Traders are keeping a close eye on things because momentum could pick up speed as soon as DOGE decides on a course out of this compression. According to the bearish argument, thinning volumes and recurrent rejections from the $0.25-$0.26 region indicate waning bullish interest.

DOGE/USDT Chart by TradingView

If DOGE breaches the 200 EMA support at $0.22, downside targets might reach $0.20, the location of a prior accumulation base. The bullish scenario should not be discounted, though. In recent months, DOGE has consistently demonstrated resilience at these levels. A recovery could be triggered by holding above the 200 EMA, particularly if the price breaks through the overhead resistance at $0.24-$0.25.

Buyers might then retarget $0.28 and higher. At 45, the RSI is neutral, meaning that it can move in either direction without becoming overly stretched. In keeping with the calm-before-the-storm theory, volume has considerably decreased in comparison to previous surges.

Dogecoin is still in limbo at this time. The next trend will probably be determined by a clear break of either boundary, and given the current compression, volatility could skyrocket when the breakout occurs.

XRP’s decisive technical move

After battling under layered resistance for weeks, XRP demonstrated a decisive technical move by breaking above the 100-day EMA. As the first definite bullish signal since the decline in September, it prepares the market for a potential retest of the psychologically significant $3.00 level. However, there is still a significant obstacle in the way and the path ahead is still complicated.

Although recovering, the 100 EMA is a good place to start. XRP is currently getting close to the 50-day EMA. This level has historically served as bears’ more effective line of defense and frequently determines whether breakouts maintain momentum or quickly fade. XRP could make another attempt to reach the $3.00 region, where descending trendline resistance and psychological pressure converge, if it can create support above the 50 EMA.

Even with the technical advancement, volume is still very low, underscoring the lack of conviction in the current bounce. Based on the low participation, a lot of traders are holding off on investing money until there is a verified breakout or a more erratic trigger. XRP could stall at the 50 EMA and reenter the consolidation zone around $2.80-$2.85 in the absence of more robust buying pressure.

The bullish argument is based on XRP staying above the 100 EMA and breaking through the 50 EMA fast. By drawing in sidelined buyers, such a move might quicken momentum and prepare a run to $3.00 and possibly $3.20.

But in the bearish scenario, the 50 EMA would be rejected and there would be fresh downward pressure heading toward the 200 EMA at $2.65, which has frequently served as deeper support. At this point, XRP is going through its most significant event in months at $3. When volume breaks above the 50 EMA, bulls will take back control. If this goes wrong, the rally could end up being another false start.

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On December 6, 2020, the Hayabusa2 spacecraft dropped off pristine samples from asteroid Ryugu in the Australian outback, becoming the world’s second asteroid sample return mission, after the first Hayabusa mission returned dusty samples from asteroid Itokawa in 2010. But Hayabusa2 still has more to offer.

That same spacecraft is currently on its way to another distant space rock, aiming to snag more samples to help scientists compile the solar system’s origin story. Recent observations of the asteroid, however, reveal that Hayabusa2 might not be able to touch down on its new target.

Asteroid 1998 KY26 is a small, lumpy near-Earth object thought to contain about a million gallons of water. It rotates so quickly that a day on the rock ends almost as soon as it begins, according to NASA. Hayabusa2 is set to rendezvous with the asteroid in 2031 as part of its extended mission to collect more dust and rock straight from the source.

Now, using multiple observatories around the world, astronomers gathered more data on Hayabusa2’s new target and found that it is nearly three times smaller and spinning much faster than originally thought, according to a new paper published in Nature Communications.

Not clear for landing

The researchers behind the new paper combined the recent observations with previous radar data, revealing that the asteroid is a mere 36 feet (11 meters) wide, as opposed to 98 feet (30 meters). What’s more, the asteroid is spinning about twice as fast as earlier data suggested.

“We found that the reality of the object is completely different from what it was previously described as,” Toni Santana-Ros, a researcher from the University of Alicante, Spain, and lead author of the new paper, said in a statement. “One day on this asteroid lasts only five minutes!”

Hayabusa2’s first target measured at nearly 3,000 feet (900 meters) wide. The spacecraft landed on asteroid Ryugu on February 22, 2019, for the first time, then returned for a second touchdown in July 2019 to collect subsurface samples from a crater it had created with its first landing. Shortly before dropping off its samples on Earth, Japan’s space agency (JAXA) announced an extension to Hayabusa2’s mission and a lucky second target.

A bigger challenge awaits

Unlike its first target, however, Hayabusa2’s second landing will prove far more challenging due to the asteroid’s small size and fast rotation. The team behind the new study used the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope and other instruments to observe 1998 KY26 in preparation for the mission’s upcoming encounter.

“The amazing story here is that we found that the size of the asteroid is comparable to the size of the spacecraft that is going to visit it! And we were able to characterize such a small object using our telescopes, which means that we can do it for other objects in the future,” Santana-Ros said. “Our methods could have an impact on the plans for future near-Earth asteroid exploration or even asteroid mining.”

This has the makings of a very interesting rendezvous! Now we just have to wait—impatiently—for 2031 to arrive.