Why did the price of IP fall?

Story (IP) dropped 0.74% in the last 24 hours to $8.86, continuing its losses over the past week (-2.4%) and month (-13.6%). The main reasons include negative technical signals, concerns from unauthorized IP disputes, and a general slowdown in altcoin activity.

1. Technical Weakness – Price is below important moving averages, with bearish momentum indicators
2. Baby Shark Memecoin Incident – Collapse of an unauthorized token hurt confidence
3. Altcoin Market Slowdown – Altcoin Season Index down 30% over the past month

Deep Dive

1. Technical Weakness (Bearish Impact)

Overview: Story (IP) is trading below its 7-day simple moving average (SMA) at $9.58 and 30-day SMA at $10.01. The MACD indicator shows negative momentum, and the RSI is at 39.38, which means it’s close to being oversold but not quite there yet.

What this means: Traders see $9.58 as a key resistance level. If the price can’t rise above this, bearish sentiment will likely continue. If it falls below $8.79 (a key Fibonacci retracement level), the next target could be around $7.13.

2. Baby Shark Memecoin Incident (Mixed Impact)

Overview: A Baby Shark-themed memecoin launched on Story’s network crashed by 99% on September 26 after Pinkfong, the IP owner, rejected the project. This wiped out over $500 million in market value (The Defiant).

What this means: Although Story (IP) wasn’t directly involved, this event raised concerns about how IP rights are managed on the platform. Social media sentiment turned cautious, with critics pointing out that Story’s protocol fees ($17-$45 per day) might be a barrier to wider adoption.

3. Altcoin Market Slowdown (Bearish Impact)

Overview: The CoinMarketCap Altcoin Season Index dropped to 46, down 25% over the past month, while Bitcoin’s market dominance increased to 58.53%. Story’s 24-hour trading volume rose 18% to $82 million, indicating traders are moving into more volatile assets rather than holding.

What this means: Story (IP) is facing challenges common to many altcoins. Its 30-day performance (-13.6%) lags behind the overall crypto market, which gained 6.9%, showing weaker momentum compared to other assets.

Conclusion

Story (IP)’s recent decline is due to technical setbacks, fallout from unauthorized IP projects, and a general lack of enthusiasm in the altcoin market. However, its strong 83% gain over the past 90 days shows there is still interest in programmable IP concepts. The key level to watch is $8.79 — can Story hold this support as Grayscale’s Story Trust sees inflows, with $627 million added to its Bitcoin ETF yesterday?

What could affect the price of IP?

Story’s price depends largely on how well its intellectual property (IP) is adopted, its token supply rules, and overall crypto market trends.

1. Big IP partnerships (Positive) – Deals like Solo Leveling boost real-world use.
2. Token unlocks (Negative) – Most tokens are still locked, but upcoming releases could increase supply and lower prices.
3. AI and Real-World Assets (RWA) story (Mixed) – There’s growth potential, but also a lot of speculation.

Deep Dive

1. IP Adoption & Partnerships (Positive Impact)

Overview: Story has recently teamed up with Seoul Exchange to tokenize popular K-pop and K-drama IP, and with Solo Leveling, a franchise worth over $1 billion. These partnerships show that Story’s blockchain can serve as a reliable registry for managing IP rights, linking demand for its $IP token directly to licensing activity.

What this means: Every new IP added means more transactions paid in $IP and higher demand for staking to secure the network. For example, the Solo Leveling partnership generated over 250,000 transactions in its first week alone. If this growth continues, it could help increase Story’s currently low daily fee revenue of about $15.

2. Token Unlocks & Inflation (Negative Impact)

Overview: About 75% of Story’s total 1 billion $IP tokens are still locked. Early investors (21.6%) and core team members (20%) will gradually unlock their tokens until 2029, with the next big unlock scheduled for February 2026.

What this means: Historically, altcoins often drop 20-40% around these unlock events because of increased selling pressure. Story’s fully diluted valuation is $8.2 billion, compared to its current market cap of $2.8 billion. For prices to stay stable, strong buying interest from institutions like Grayscale’s Trust will be needed to absorb the new tokens entering the market.

3. AI & RWA Market Sentiment (Mixed Impact)

Overview: Story connects AI training data licensing with tokenized IP, two sectors expected to grow about 45% annually through 2030. However, the current price-to-earnings ratio of 1,500,000 shows the market is highly speculative.

What this means: Positive news, such as Heritage Distilling’s $82 million buyback, could spark price rallies. But if Story can’t increase its protocol fees beyond very small amounts, investors might rethink its value. Technical indicators like the MACD histogram show a bearish signal, suggesting prices may consolidate in the near term.

Conclusion

Story’s price will likely fluctuate between excitement over AI-driven growth and the realities of token supply pressures. Keep an eye on the February 2026 token unlock and Q4 IP licensing data (available through Story Explorer). The key question is whether programmable IP can grow beyond niche markets before dilution impacts the token’s value.

What are people saying about IP?

Story (IP) is a bold bet on programmable intellectual property (IP), blending excitement with skepticism. Buybacks are driving optimism, but some fundamentals seem weak. Here’s the key buzz:

1. Institutional buybacks are boosting confidence
2. Valuation concerns are raising doubts
3. Grayscale’s endorsement adds credibility
4. Co-founder departure challenges community trust

Deep Dive

1. @AnonVee_: $82M Buyback Launches 🚀 (Positive)

“Story Protocol (IP) just surged to $8.4 ($8.4 billion fully diluted value) – looks like the $82 million token buyback program is underway”
– @AnonVee (28.6K followers · 412K impressions · 2025-08-30 16:06 UTC)
[View original post](https://x.com/AnonVee/status/1961822751078990024)
What this means: The Foundation started a 90-day buyback using $82 million from Heritage Distilling at $3.40 per token, helping support the price. This shows strong institutional belief in IP’s potential to digitize real-world assets.

2. @cryptothedoggy: Questionable Valuation 🚩 (Negative)

“$8.2 billion fully diluted value vs. $15 daily fees → Price-to-Earnings ratio of 1.5 million. Break-even year: 4525 AD? 🙂”
– @cryptothedoggy (91.3K followers · 2.1M impressions · 2025-08-31 04:00 UTC)
View original post
What this means: Critics point out the huge gap between IP’s $2.8 billion market cap and its very low daily revenue on the blockchain (about $45/day in September). This raises concerns about overhype, especially with a large token release planned for 2026.

3. @fineboytunde_: Leadership Changes Explained 🛡️ (Mixed)

“The CEO didn’t leave—only one co-founder did. The buyback-driven price jump doesn’t mean the project is dead. They’re building for a $70 trillion IP economy”
– @fineboytunde (143K followers · 3.8M impressions · 2025-09-03 00:03 UTC)
[View original post](https://x.com/fineboytunde/status/1963030149080682755)
What this means: Jason Zhao’s departure in August unsettled some investors, but supporters say Story’s leadership in Korea (led by SY Lee) and its low-fee approach aimed at wide adoption remain strong.

4. @StoryProtocol: AI and IP Story Grows 🤖 (Positive)

“Korea runs on IP → AI runs on IP → IP runs on Story”
– @StoryProtocol (689K followers · 1.2M impressions · 2025-09-23 00:08 UTC)
View original post
What this means: At Korea Blockchain Week’s Origin Summit, Story positioned itself as a key link between Korea’s IP-driven economy (like K-pop) and AI data pipelines, potentially attracting institutional investors from Asia.

Conclusion

The outlook on Story (IP) is mixed. It has promising first-mover advantages in IP tokenization but faces serious questions about its valuation. Institutional support from Grayscale (July) and Heritage Distilling (August) shows confidence, but a large portion of insider tokens (41.6%) will unlock by 2026, which could increase selling pressure. The buyback program, ending November 2025, will be critical to watch as the fully diluted value hits $8.3 billion while the market cap remains at $2.8 billion.

What is the latest news about IP?

Story is gaining momentum through innovative intellectual property (IP) projects and the current altcoin market trend, but its price remains volatile. Here’s the latest update:

1. Solo Leveling Megafranchise Goes Onchain (October 3, 2025) – The billion-dollar Korean franchise is tokenizing its IP on Story to engage fans worldwide.
2. Altcoin Season Boosts IP Price (October 3, 2025) – IP’s price rose 3.6% as investors shifted funds toward infrastructure-focused tokens.
3. Bitcoin Rally Drives IP Up (October 3, 2025) – IP surged 11% alongside a broader positive trend in the crypto market.

In-Depth Look

1. Solo Leveling Megafranchise Goes Onchain (October 3, 2025)

What Happened:
Solo Leveling, a major Korean media franchise with over 14 billion webtoon views and Netflix adaptations, teamed up with Story to create digital tokens representing its intellectual property. This partnership allows for automated licensing, royalty payments, and an official memecoin linked to the franchise’s success.

Why It Matters:
This move is a positive sign for Story because it proves the platform can handle valuable IP tokenization, which could attract other big franchises. However, the success depends on whether fans embrace these blockchain-based experiences and if the memecoin’s value reflects the franchise’s popularity.
(AMBCrypto)

2. Altcoin Season Boosts IP Price (October 3, 2025)

What Happened:
IP’s price increased by 3.6% to $9.60, with $120 million in daily trading volume, as investors moved money into tokens focused on blockchain infrastructure. Analysts point to IP’s focus on decentralized IP management tools and its recovery from important support price levels.

Why It Matters:
This price rise shows growing interest in altcoins that offer practical Web3 applications. However, technical indicators like the Relative Strength Index (RSI) at 39.38 and the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) at -0.15 suggest the price might stabilize or pull back soon.
(Yahoo Finance)

3. Bitcoin Rally Drives IP Up (October 3, 2025)

What Happened:
IP’s price jumped 11% to $10.12 as Bitcoin approached its all-time high, fueled by increased investment from exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and growing demand for AI-related IP projects. IP outperformed similar mid-sized tokens like Immutable (+12.7%) and Zcash (+8%).

Why It Matters:
This shows that IP’s price is influenced by overall trends in the cryptocurrency market. Despite the recent gains, IP has dropped 13.26% over the past 30 days, and its fully diluted valuation (FDV) of $8.4 billion raises questions about how quickly it can grow its revenue.
(The Defiant)

Conclusion

Story is making strides with innovative IP partnerships like Solo Leveling, demonstrating real-world use cases for blockchain technology. However, IP’s price remains sensitive to broader market trends and shifts in altcoin investment. The key question is whether the adoption of on-chain IP solutions will outpace the increase in token supply from upcoming unlocks.

What is expected in the development of IP?

Story is building key tools to support intellectual property (IP) in the AI and real-world asset space:

1. IP Vaults (Late 2025) – Secure on-chain storage for sensitive IP data.
2. Enhanced Governance (Q4 2025) – Improved community voting and upgrade processes.
3. PoC Protocol V2 (Q4 2025) – AI-focused system for licensing IP automatically.

In-Depth Look

1. IP Vaults (Late 2025)

What it is:
IP Vaults will let users safely store confidential IP information—like AI training data or legal documents—directly on the blockchain. Access to this data will be controlled by programmable rules using smart contracts. The developer test network (devnet) is expected by late 2025, with the full main network launch in 2026 (Story Foundation).

Why it matters:

• Positive: This could attract big IP owners such as film studios or AI research labs who need to keep their data private but verifiable. For example, Poseidon AI plans to use it for their training datasets.
• Challenges: Success depends on making the system easy to use and having legal systems recognize blockchain-based IP rights.

2. Enhanced Governance (Q4 2025)

What it is:
Story plans to update its governance model to give token holders more influence through weighted voting and to automate how proposals are handled (Story Network Update). This aims to make decision-making more decentralized and efficient.

Why it matters:

• Positive: Less dependence on core developers could boost trust and attract projects focused on decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs).
• Neutral: The effectiveness depends on active participation from token holders, which tends to be low in many blockchain communities.

3. PoC Protocol V2 (Q4 2025)

What it is:
This upgrade to Story’s Proof-of-Creativity protocol will allow AI systems to automatically license and trade IP assets, especially targeting the market for AI training data (Technical Roadmap).

Why it matters:

• Positive: Positions Story as a key player in the growing AI data economy, which is valued at over $70 trillion. Partners like Verse8 are already experimenting with this technology.
• Challenges: Story will face competition from centralized AI data platforms like OpenAI, which have stronger industry connections.

Summary

Story is focusing on building infrastructure that supports AI-ready intellectual property: secure storage with IP Vaults, decentralized decision-making through enhanced governance, and automated IP licensing via PoC Protocol V2. These upgrades could establish Story as a leader in programmable IP, but there are risks related to user adoption and legal acceptance.

Going forward, tracking metrics like IP registrations and vault usage will be key to understanding how well these features gain traction after launch.

What updates are there in the IP code base?

Story (IP) has released major updates to improve security, scalability, and compatibility with Ethereum.

1. Validator Expansion (Aug 8, 2025) – Increased the number of validators from 64 to 80 to make the network more decentralized.
2. Ethereum Pectra Support (Aug 19, 2025) – Added support for Ethereum’s latest upgrade to ensure compatibility with Ethereum’s smart contract system.
3. Security Upgrades (May 2, 2025) – Fixed security issues and improved how validator keys are protected.

Deep Dive

1. Validator Expansion (Aug 8, 2025)

Overview:
With the Story v1.3.2 update, called "Polybius," 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 spreads out control, making the network safer and less centralized.

Before launching on the main network, this change was tested on a trial network to ensure everything worked well. The network stayed online without any downtime during the update.

What this means:
This is a positive development for $IP because having more validators makes the network stronger against attacks and supports long-term decentralization. Validators need to update their software to avoid penalties.
(Source)

2. Ethereum Pectra Support (Aug 19, 2025)

Overview:
The "Cosmas" release of Story-Geth added support for Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade. This includes new features like account abstraction (making accounts more flexible), BLS precompiles (improving cryptography), and better gas refund rules (reducing transaction costs).

These changes help developers use the latest Ethereum features while benefiting from Story’s focus on intellectual property (IP) data. It also lowers storage costs for IP-related information.

What this means:
In the short term, this update doesn’t drastically change $IP’s value but strengthens its role as a blockchain compatible with Ethereum. This makes it easier for developers familiar with Ethereum to build on Story. Expect more smart contract activity as a result.
(Source)

3. Security Upgrades (May 2, 2025)

Overview:
The "Ovid" hardfork (version 1.2.0) introduced several security improvements: validator keys are now encrypted for better protection, node synchronization is faster with snap sync, and transaction rules are stricter to prevent errors.

Importantly, the update removed the --private-key command line option to avoid accidental exposure of sensitive keys. Validators now use secure .env files to manage keys. The update also fixed rare issues in how rewards are distributed.

What this means:
This is good news for $IP because stronger security reduces the risk of hacks, which builds confidence among institutional IP owners. Validators must adopt the new key management methods to stay secure.
(Source)

Conclusion

Story’s recent updates focus on making the network more secure, scalable, and compatible with Ethereum—important steps toward becoming a leading platform for IP data settlement. With more validators helping decentralize the network and stronger Ethereum compatibility, upcoming features like IP Vaults could boost adoption in AI data markets.