NEO emerges as top gainer, traders bet on price drop

NEO has recorded impressive gains as the broader crypto market witnesses bullish momentum after a red weekend.

NEO is up by 33% in the past 24 hours and is trading at $22.5 at the time of writing. The asset’s market cap surged to $1.58 billion, making it the 58th-largest cryptocurrency. NEO’s daily trading volume increased by 88%, reaching $667 million.

According to data provided by Santiment, the NEO total open interest (OI) surged by 37% over the past day — rising from $37.79 million to $43.44 million.

When an asset’s OI sees a sudden increase, higher price volatility is usually expected.

Per data from the market intelligence platform, NEO’s Binance funding rate declined from negative 0.01% to 0.001% over the past 24 hours. The funding rate shows that traders are betting on a price drop despite the bullish market sentiment.

On April 9, NEO recorded a 40% rally, reaching the $21 mark for the first time in over a year — the move was followed by a further price hike to $23.7 two days later. 

Data from Santiment shows that the NEO Relative Strength Index (RSI) rose from 56 to 63 over the past 24 hours. The indicator shows that NEO is currently slightly overheated and overvalued at this price point.

For NEO to remain in the bullish zone, its RSI would need to cool down below the 50 mark.