- Under bearish pressure, Polkadot faces the risk of falling to $1.70 or lower.
- Overall market weakness gives bears the upper hand.
- Technical indicators are mostly bearish.
Polkadot was among the altcoins declining on Monday, as a broadly weak market continued to weigh on bullish momentum.
The native token DOT of the cross-chain protocol traded at $1.83 in the past 24 hours, down about 2%.
DOT’s underperformance reflects ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties that have kept the market subdued.
Market weakness keeps DOT hovering near $1.90
Polkadot recently tried to break above $1.90 but was thwarted by persistent market weakness.
The token moved lower amid a broadly falling crypto market.
After briefly approaching that level, DOT met heavy resistance and settled down near $1.83.
Low trading volume and reduced buyer interest amid uncertainty could allow bears to press their advantage further.
Although the price rose about 1.5% last week, it has fallen 18% over the past 30 days and is down about 74% year-to-date.
Short-term negative developments, such as the incident on Sunday, are also worth noting.
Staking rewards on Polkadot follow a ~24-hour cycle called an “Era,” usually split between ~22K nominators.
Yesterday, in Era #2035, an issue with an off-chain election tool limited the nominator set to just 3K, leading to higher individual payouts for those included. The issue…
— Polkadot (@Polkadot) December 29, 2025
Polkadot price outlook
Trading around $1.85, the token has struggled to regain momentum from earlier highs.
DOT’s subdued price mirrors investor caution across the market.
Bitcoin and Ethereum face key resistance near $90,000 and $3,000 respectively, while XRP, Solana and BNB have also seen gains taper as traders lock in profits and reposition for the year-end.
Technical indicators, on-chain developments and market sentiment will likely act as either tailwinds or headwinds in the coming months.
In the near term, DOT could register modest gains, potentially testing $2.00 and $2.25.
More optimistic scenarios project a rebound above $4.00. However, given the recent downtrend, such a recovery may be ambitious for bulls in the short term.
Polkadot’s price has fallen from highs above $10 in January this year.
So far this year, bulls have been unable to sustain rallies above $6.00 and $4.50. A drop below $2.00 would reinforce the prevailing bearish strength among altcoins.
If bearish momentum continues, DOT could decline further.
Technical outlook
The 50-day exponential moving average is sloping down, indicating short-term weakness.
Meanwhile, the relative strength index (RSI) remains below 50, suggesting potential for further downside. If the RSI reaches oversold levels, exhaustion could signal a reversal.
shows the Polkadot price chart.
However, the moving average convergence divergence (MACD) indicates some underlying bullish resilience.
In the short term, DOT may trade sideways below $1.80.
Any renewed losses would not only limit chances of a breakout but could also allow sellers to push the price toward $1.70 or lower.
Key factors that could influence these forecasts include Polkadot’s parachain auctions, governance improvements and the broader macroeconomic outlook.