Internet Computer (ICP) price has stabilized around $3.50 after a rebound to reclaim the $2.92 mark at the end of October. Trading volume surged, exceeding 20%, indicating renewed buying interest when prices reached around $2.80-$2.90. A brief attempt to break above $3.15 was met by selling pressure, pushing the price back down. However, Layer-1 sentiment improved following major volatility in October, while cloud service outages spurred discussions about decentralized hosting solutions like ICP.
The market is currently grappling with the direction of ICP’s trajectory: a breakout or continued sideways movement?
Several factors will likely influence ICP’s price over the coming months:
1. Subnet Scaling and AI Integration
A significant upgrade to ICP subnet capacity in August 2025 (doubling replicated state capacity to 2 TiB) has opened doors for larger applications and complex smart contracts. The Caffeine tool, which simplifies AI app development on-chain, adds further support. Increased subnet usage leads to computational burns, effectively reducing circulating supply over time. These developments offer a scalable foundation for DeFi, AI, and enterprise platforms.
2. Competition in the DeFi Space
The competition from Solana’s high throughput, approaching 1000 TPS, is putting pressure on ICP as it seeks to establish itself in the DeFi space. Outages at Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure highlighted the vulnerabilities of centralized cloud systems. These events ignited interest in decentralized cloud models. ICP stands to benefit from this narrative, but its wider adoption hinges on proving performance advantages and reliability at an enterprise level.
3. Whale Accumulation vs. Weak Sentiment
Wallets holding between 1,000 and 1 million ICP saw their positions grow by roughly 2% of the supply during Q3 2025. This accumulation signals strong confidence in the long-term fundamentals of ICP. However, market sentiment remains fragile. The Fear & Greed Index currently stands at 35, while Bitcoin’s dominance continues to be high (above 59%). Capital remains focused on less risky assets, limiting momentum for a break from altcoin prices.
Short-Term Outlook for ICP Price
The price needs to surpass the $3.15 level to confirm bullish continuation. This level acts as a key resistance point. If buyers succeed, the ICP price could retest $3.50 and potentially even $4.00 in Q4.
Failure to break out puts the market into consolidation and risks another dip towards $2.97 or even $2.80. Subnet activity growth and Caffeine’s adoption could provide the catalyst for a breakout in either direction.
For now, ICP is holding steady while waiting for the next signal.