Story Protocol jumps 15% as whales buy $47M in IP tokens

Story Protocol’s IP token has seen a sharp 15% bounce, trading just above $3 after days of downward drift.

The surge was accompanied by a sudden 118% spike in trading volume and large-scale whale accumulation, fueling speculation around the project’s next major move. Blockchain data flagged by Lookonchain on June 23 shows two major wallets collectively purchased 16 million Story Protocol (IP) tokens, worth nearly $47.5 million. 

One address acquired 6 million tokens, while another scooped up 10 million. The timing is notable, arriving just as market-wide sentiment steadied following Bitcoin’s (BTC) recovery back above the $100,000 level after slipping on geopolitical fears tied to U.S. strikes in Iran.

Despite the gain, IP is still down around 30% over the month and 16% in the past week. However, the fresh accumulation echoes a pattern seen earlier this year. Back then, significant whale inflows were followed by a 40% price rally. 

Whether history repeats depends, in part, on what the Story Protocol team has in store. A brief post on the project’s social media channels teased that “big things” are coming, without offering details.

So far in 2025, Story Protocol has seen steady infrastructure progress. February’s Homer mainnet launch processed millions of IP registrations. March brought a public preview of the IP Portal, which enables creators to register and browse tokenized intellectual property. 

The protocol also partnered with Oxford University to advance AI-agent frameworks, expanded liquidity through Orderly Network, and closed an $80 million Series B led by a16z. More than 100 projects have been onboarded so far, including well-known ones like Stanford and StabilityAI.

Looking at the technical picture, the price action is showing signs of a recovery, but it is still fragile. Across all timeframes, the token continues to trade below important moving averages. Both the 10-day and 20-day estimated moving averages are above current levels, at $3.09 and $3.40 respectively, indicating downward pressure.

An imminent breakout is indicated by the Bollinger Bands’ compression. Indicators are still not entirely consistent. The MACD and awesome oscillator are still in negative territory, and the relative strength index is close to oversold territory, at about 38. Even though momentum has recently flipped into a buy signal, volume trends do not offer compelling confirmation,

If bulls can regain the $3.30–$3.50 range, there may be a recovery toward $4. On the downside, if $3 is not held, the asset might drop to $2.70 or $2.50, especially if Bitcoin struggles again. For the time being, sentiment is dependent on whether Story Protocol’s next action justifies the optimism and on follow-through whale action.