Market Overview: BENQI/Tether (QIUSDT) – 24-Hour Price Behavior

• Price fell 0.77% over 24 hours, closing at 0.0072 after a sharp drop in early ET trading.
• Volume surged in late ET and overnight, with a 3.7× spike in turnover at 0115 ET.
• RSI and MACD both showed bearish momentum, suggesting short-term oversold conditions.
• Price traded within a tightening Bollinger Band range overnight before breaking lower.
• A bearish engulfing pattern formed at the session’s high near 0.00739, followed by bearish continuation.

Opening and Price Summary

At 12:00 ET–1 (09/16), BENQI/Tether (QIUSDT) opened at 0.00735, with the pair hitting a high of 0.0074 and a low of 0.00714 before closing at 0.0072 at 12:00 ET (09/17). The total 24-hour trading volume amounted to 18.08 million QI, with a notional turnover of approximately $127,048 (calculated using average close price).

Structure & Formations

The price action revealed a key resistance cluster near 0.00739–0.0074, where a bearish engulfing pattern formed during the early ET session. This was followed by a consolidation phase, with a doji at 0.00737 and a descending pattern emerging in the latter half of the session. The price eventually broke below the 0.00731–0.00733 range to test support at 0.00722, before continuing lower into the overnight period. The 0.0072–0.00723 range appears to be a new key support level following the overnight decline.

Moving Averages and Fibonacci Retracements

On the 15-minute chart, the 20-period SMA moved lower throughout the session, crossing below the 50-period SMA at around 0300 ET, confirming a bearish bias. The daily chart shows the price below the 50, 100, and 200-period SMAs, reinforcing a short-term downtrend. Fibonacci retracement levels applied to the 0.00735–0.0074 swing indicate 0.00722 (61.8%) and 0.00727 (38.2%) as critical support levels. The 0.00716 level (78.6%) may offer a hard floor if the decline accelerates.

MACD, RSI, and Bollinger Bands

The MACD crossed below the signal line early in the session, with a bearish divergence forming in the latter half. RSI dropped to a bearish oversold level (<30) overnight, but failed to trigger a reversal, hinting at continued selling pressure. Bollinger Bands narrowed during the late ET consolidation phase before expanding as the price broke to the downside, signaling a potential continuation of the bearish move.

Volume & Turnover

Trading volume remained above average during the overnight session, especially between 0430 and 0530 ET, with a large 3.1 million QI volume candle at 0430 ET indicating strong bearish participation. Notional turnover peaked at 0115 ET with a massive 2.9 million QI volume candle and a price drop of 0.00728–0.00726. The volume–price divergence at 0600 ET suggests that selling pressure remained strong without a proportional increase in volume, which may indicate exhaustion or a lack of conviction.

Backtest Hypothesis

Given the bearish engulfing pattern at the high, a potential strategy could involve shorting at the close of the 0.00739 candle (1600 ET) with a stop-loss above the 0.0074 level and a target at the 0.00722 Fibonacci retracement. The MACD and RSI readings would act as confirmation tools, while a break below 0.00722 could trigger a second target at 0.00716. A backtest using this setup would need to consider volatility contraction during the consolidation phase as an entry trigger and Bollinger Band breakout as an exit cue.