LAB slips 23% as shorts pile in and the $13 lifeline starts to look awfully thin 🧪

LAB extended its sharp downturn over the past 24 hours, shedding more than 23% of its value as persistent selling pressure weighed on the token. Trading volume fell 35.01% to $32.2 million, indicating that participation cooled even as the price registered another leg lower. The asset traded around $13.53 at the time of writing, leaving its market capitalization at $4.22 billion following the latest wave of losses. The move came after LAB failed to sustain a recovery within its ascending channel, with sellers regaining control across the broader market.

Spot exchange data continued to point to accumulation rather than aggressive distribution despite the price decline. CoinGlass figures showed another $420.21K in negative spot netflows on June 29, meaning more LAB left exchanges than entered them. That trend suggested holders continued moving tokens into private wallets rather than preparing them for immediate sale, although the relatively modest outflow failed to counter the prevailing bearish sentiment. Buyers showed limited urgency even as exchange balances declined, leaving sellers with enough control to push prices lower.

LAB approached the lower boundary of its ascending channel after several consecutive bearish candles erased much of the prior recovery. Price slipped toward the channel's baseline near the $13 level, placing the entire structure under pressure, and a confirmed break below that trendline would expose the next major demand zone around $12, where buyers had previously stepped in. Technical indicators continued to favor sellers, with the MACD line crossing below the signal line and the histogram turning negative, while the Parabolic SAR remained above price after flipping earlier in the decline. The channel itself remained technically intact during the latest session, leaving bulls with a final opportunity to defend the structure, though a rejection from the upper half of the channel showed buyers struggled to sustain higher prices.

Derivatives positioning reflected sustained bearish conviction across the futures market. At the time of writing, LAB's OI-Weighted Funding Rate stood at -0.2773%, indicating that short traders continued paying premiums to maintain their positions. The deeply negative reading also suggested the market had become increasingly one-sided, meaning that if buyers reclaim channel support and force a rebound, the crowded short positioning could face pressure from a rapid squeeze.