Why is DEXE up today? Massive short liquidation fuels 34% rally to $24

DEXE, the native token of the decentralized protocol DeXe, climbed higher to a new yearly high of $24.3. The altcoin added another 34% gain, bringing its 2026 recovery profits to a whopping 1200%.  The latest move was partly triggered by a short squeeze that hunted for liquidity created by leveraged short positions piled between $21 and $24.5.  What's next for the altcoin? Worth pointing out, however, that the rally was fueled by more than just perpetual demand. According to Nansen data, exchange balances slipped from 4.47 million to 4.44 million tokens. This meant more DEXE left exchanges than moved in, underscoring spot accumulation during the sharp upstick.  If the spot accumulation spree extends, it could extend the uptrend momentum. However, from a technical price chart perspective, the latest move hit the 2025 peak. As such, it could reinforce the $24 area as a key sell wall for booking profits.  In fact, the candlestick wick seen at press time confirmed this thesis. The upside wick meant buyers tried to clear the 2025 peak, but sellers aggressively entered the market and pushed the price lower.  As of press time, DEXE traded at $21.25 and may consolidate above $18 (red zone). In fact, bulls could attempt to regroup at this zone before attempting to push forward if the broader market sentiment supports the move.  On the contrary, failure to defend the red zone as support could embolden short sellers to drag the altcoin lower to another key zone at $12-$14.  Surprisingly, in the volatility-driven market, the bearish scenario seemed more likely given the current liquidity pool locations. Notably, the sharp move to $24 cleared most of the upside liquidity pools. Now, what’s remaining are leveraged longs, mostly concentrated around $16-$17. In other words, a long squeeze could likely drag DEXE to these levels, which coincided with the red zone.  Overall, DEXE’s recovery surged to over 1200% and hit a 2025 peak of $24. But sellers appeared to be stepping in as of writing, and more profit-taking could drag the altcoin to $18 or lower.  Final Summary DEXE triggered another 34% rally to $24 following a massive short squeeze on Wednesday.  But the sellers appeared to be stepping into the market as the altcoin retested the 2025 price peak.