What could affect the price of IP?
Story’s price faces a mix of big opportunities and risks tied to upcoming token releases.
- Growing IP Ecosystem – Key partnerships like Solo Leveling and Seoul Exchange could boost adoption.
- Token Unlock Risks – 76% of tokens are locked until 2026, which could lead to market oversupply.
- Institutional Interest – Grayscale Trust and exchange listings improve liquidity but revenue remains low.
Deep Dive
1. IP Ecosystem Growth (Positive Outlook)
Overview:
Story recently teamed up with Solo Leveling (a franchise with over 14 billion views) and Seoul Exchange (an exclusive partner for real-world asset settlements). These partnerships position Story as a central platform for tokenizing intellectual property (IP). Its system for programmable licensing and royalties (Decrypt) could attract millions as Web3 IP use cases grow.
What this means:
If well-known IP owners—like K-pop royalty holders or AI data providers—start using Story, the $IP token could see more demand as it’s used for transaction fees. This could justify its current $2.98 billion market value, but there’s still a risk that these plans won’t fully materialize.
2. Token Unlock Risks (Potential Downside)
Overview:
Only 25% of the total 1 billion $IP tokens are currently available on the market. Starting in 2026, early investors (21.6%) and core team members (20%) will begin unlocking their tokens. This could release 416 million tokens worth about $3.96 billion at today’s prices.
What this means:
The fully diluted valuation (FDV) of $8.33 billion assumes very strong growth. If adoption doesn’t keep pace with these new tokens hitting the market, selling pressure could push prices down. The ongoing $82 million buyback program (CoinMarketCap) might help temporarily but isn’t a long-term solution.
3. Institutional Sentiment (Mixed Signals)
Overview:
Grayscale’s Story Trust (launching July 2025) and listings on exchanges like Upbit and KuCoin have improved liquidity. However, the protocol’s daily revenue from fees remains low—between $15 and $45 per day (@cryptothedoggy).
What this means:
Institutional backing supports Story’s big vision of an $80 trillion IP market, but it also exposes $IP to the ups and downs of the broader crypto market. For the token’s value to hold up, fee revenue needs to grow faster. Watch for upcoming launches like IP Vaults and AI data partnerships as potential catalysts.
Conclusion
Story’s price depends on balancing its huge potential in IP adoption with the risk of a large token supply increase in 2026. In the short term, partnerships like Solo Leveling and ongoing buybacks might help offset bearish technical signals (RSI 50.89, MACD bearish crossover). Over the long run, Story must prove it can turn partnerships into steady revenue rather than just hype.
Will $IP’s token burn and staking rewards keep pace with dilution? Keep an eye on changes in circulating supply and the return on investment from new partnerships.
What are people saying about IP?
Story (IP) is swinging between excitement and doubt. Here’s what’s making waves right now:
- Supporters of the $82 million token buyback program are clashing with skeptics questioning the revenue.
- Grayscale’s IP Trust is raising hopes for more institutional investment.
- A partnership with Parasite’s studio is boosting interest in programmable intellectual property (IP).
Deep Dive
1. Buyback Program Defense – Bullish
@fineboytunde_, a popular commentator, defends the buyback program:
"Some critics mock the $370 in weekly revenue, but low fees are intentional—you don’t want to overtax creators. The key point is the $80 million buyback by Nasdaq-listed Heritage Distilling, which shows strong confidence."
– @fineboytunde (89K followers · 2.1M impressions · Sept 3, 2025)
[View original post](https://x.com/fineboytunde/status/1963030149080682755)
What this means: This is a positive sign for $IP. The 90-day buyback could reduce selling pressure and signals that companies believe in Story’s vision of a $70 trillion IP infrastructure.
2. Technical Breakdown – Bearish
@criptofacil provides a cautious technical analysis:
"Story (IP) has dropped sharply and could fall another 15%. The analysis shows weak support at $8.20."
– @criptofacil (312K followers · 480K impressions · Sept 25, 2025)
View original post
What this means: Short-term outlook is negative. After a 50% drop from its all-time high of $14.99 on Sept 22, traders are watching the $6.06 support level if $8.20 doesn’t hold.
3. Barunson Studios Collaboration – Bullish
@StoryProtocol announced a partnership with Barunson Studios, the creators of Parasite, to launch nPLUG—a platform that lets fans remix popular Korean IP on the blockchain.
– @StoryProtocol (206K followers · 3.8M impressions · Sept 22, 2025)
View original post
What this means: This is a strong long-term positive. It shows real-world use by enabling fan-created versions of IP like Parasite with built-in royalties, tapping into the $12 billion Korean content market.
Conclusion
The outlook for $IP is mixed. On one side, there’s growing institutional interest (Grayscale Trust, Heritage buyback). On the other, concerns remain about tokenomics, including a 41.6% token unlock scheduled by 2026. Keep an eye on the 90-day buyback program ending in December 2025 and user activity on nPLUG after launch. The big question: Does Story’s $70 trillion IP vision justify its current valuation with a 1.5 million price-to-earnings ratio? The market is still figuring that out.
What is the latest news about IP?
Story (IP) is gaining momentum thanks to major partnerships and a strong altcoin market. Here’s the latest news:
- Solo Leveling Megafranchise Goes Onchain (October 3, 2025) – Korea’s top anime and webtoon franchise joins Story’s blockchain to create digital tokens for its characters and storylines.
- Altcoin Season Boosts IP (October 3, 2025) – IP’s price rises 3.6% as investors move into tokens that support real-world uses.
- Seoul Exchange Adopts Story for Real-World Assets (September 22, 2025) – A licensed Korean platform uses Story to tokenize K-pop royalties and cultural assets.
In-Depth Look
1. Solo Leveling Megafranchise Goes Onchain (October 3, 2025)
What Happened:
Solo Leveling, a hugely popular franchise with over $1 billion in value, 14 billion webtoon views, and Netflix adaptations, is partnering with Story to turn its intellectual property into digital tokens. This will allow for automated licensing, royalty payments, and even a special memecoin linked to the franchise’s success.
Why It Matters:
This partnership shows that Story’s technology can handle valuable IP tokenization, potentially attracting millions of fans and setting a new standard for the $80 trillion global IP market. Still, challenges remain in scaling the platform and getting widespread user adoption.
(AMBCrypto)
2. Altcoin Season Boosts IP (October 3, 2025)
What Happened:
IP’s price increased 3.6% to $9.60 during a period when investors are favoring altcoins with clear practical uses. Trading volume topped $120 million daily.
Why It Matters:
This price jump reflects a broader market trend toward tokens that offer real utility, not just speculation. IP holding steady above $9.50 shows technical strength, but its future depends on continued developer support and interest from larger investors.
(Yahoo Finance)
3. Seoul Exchange Adopts Story for Real-World Assets (September 22, 2025)
What Happened:
Seoul Exchange, a licensed platform for trading unlisted securities, has chosen Story as its exclusive blockchain partner to tokenize K-pop royalties, TV dramas, and patents. This move targets Korea’s $450 billion crypto market.
Why It Matters:
This institutional adoption strengthens IP’s role in tokenizing real-world assets, a fast-growing area. However, regulatory challenges and competition from Ethereum-based platforms could affect its long-term position.
(Decrypt)
Conclusion
Story (IP) is leveraging big-name franchises, favorable market trends, and demand for real-world asset tokenization to carve out a strong position in programmable intellectual property. While partnerships highlight solid fundamentals, keep an eye on on-chain activity—like IP registrations and transaction fees—to see if real adoption is happening. The key question: Can IP balance retail excitement with enterprise-level scalability as tokenized assets become mainstream?
What is expected in the development of IP?
Story’s roadmap is focused on building better tools for managing AI-related intellectual property (IP) and growing its network of partners.
- IP Vaults (Q4 2025) – Secure storage for sensitive IP data like contracts, linked directly to digital assets for easy licensing.
- PoC Protocol V2 (Q4 2025) – Improved system for verifying AI-created content and handling royalty payments.
- Validator Expansion (Q4 2025) – Increasing the number of network validators from 80 to over 100 to make the system more decentralized and secure.
- nPLUG Platform Launch (Q4 2025) – A new platform for remixing film and music IP, developed with Barunson Studios (the team behind Parasite).
Deep Dive
1. IP Vaults (Q4 2025)
What it is: This upgrade lets IP owners attach encrypted files—like contracts or AI training data—to their digital assets on the blockchain. Only authorized license holders can access this information automatically, combining privacy with smart contract technology (Story Network Update).
Why it matters: This feature is great for businesses that need to protect their IP securely. However, because it’s technically complex, it might take longer to fully roll out.
2. PoC Protocol V2 (Q4 2025)
What it is: An improved version of the Proof-of-Creativity protocol that helps verify AI-generated content and manage royalty splits automatically. It’s designed to work smoothly with AI training systems, helping solve disputes over who owns what in AI-created works.
Why it matters: This is key to tapping into the huge $70 trillion AI data economy. Success depends on forming strong partnerships with AI developers, which is a competitive area.
3. Validator Expansion (Q4 2025)
What it is: Story plans to increase the number of validators—nodes that help secure and verify transactions—from 80 to over 100 by the end of 2025. This follows a recent successful testnet expansion.
Why it matters: More validators mean better security and less risk of central control. However, if demand for staking doesn’t keep up, rewards for validators might decrease.
4. nPLUG Platform Launch (Q4 2025)
What it is: In partnership with Barunson Studios, Story is launching a platform where users can create and mint derivative works—like fan films—on the blockchain. Royalties are automatically split among rights holders (CryptoBriefing).
Why it matters: This could bring Story into the mainstream by connecting with popular culture IP. Still, legal questions about derivative rights remain a challenge.
Conclusion
Story’s Q4 2025 roadmap combines important technical improvements with efforts to grow its community and partnerships. It aims to bridge the gap between AI-driven data needs and the creative economy. Keep an eye on metrics like new IP registrations and validator activity after these upgrades. Institutional interest in programmable IP could help balance any selling pressure related to token unlocks in 2026.
What updates are there in the IP code base?
Story’s recent updates have focused on improving scalability, security, and compatibility with Ethereum.
- Validator Expansion (Aug 4, 2025) – The number of mainnet validators increased from 64 to 80 nodes.
- Ethereum Pectra Support (Aug 19, 2025) – Story-Geth now supports Ethereum’s latest upgrades.
- Security & CLI Upgrades (May 2, 2025) – Validator key encryption and transaction validation have been strengthened.
Deep Dive
1. Validator Expansion (Aug 4, 2025)
Overview: With the Story v1.3.2 update, the network increased its active validators from 64 to 80. Validators are the computers that help confirm transactions and keep the network running smoothly. Adding more validators helps spread out control, making the network more decentralized and secure. This update was tested on the test network starting in June before going live on the main network. Validators need to update their software to stay in sync.
What this means: This is a positive development for IP because having more validators reduces the risk of any single party controlling the network. This makes it safer to manage and settle IP assets on the platform.
2. Ethereum Pectra Support (Aug 19, 2025)
Overview: The "Cosmas" update to Story-Geth added support for Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade, which includes improvements like new cryptographic methods and better account management features. It also introduced a new system to handle data more efficiently during transaction processing.
What this means: This update keeps Story aligned with Ethereum’s latest technology, which is good for developers but doesn’t directly change the experience for end users. It helps ensure the platform stays attractive for future development.
3. Security & CLI Upgrades (May 2, 2025)
Overview: The Ovid hardfork (v1.2.0) addressed security weaknesses related to how validator keys are stored and how transactions are checked. Key improvements include encrypting validator keys, limiting commission rates more strictly, and removing risky command-line options like --private-key. It also fixed rare issues with how staking rewards are distributed.
What this means: This is a strong positive for IP because it reduces the chances of security breaches for node operators and institutional validators, which is crucial when dealing with valuable IP assets.
Conclusion
Story’s recent updates show a clear focus on building a secure, scalable infrastructure suitable for managing intellectual property in the AI era. Expanding the validator set and staying compatible with Ethereum strengthen its position as a reliable platform for IP settlement. With upcoming features like IP Vaults and governance improvements, these technical foundations could play a key role in driving real-world adoption.