The Internet Computer (ICP) token rose to $8.60, gaining 51% over three months. The surge occurred amid renewed interest in AI projects and a powerful short squeeze that forced short sellers to close their positions.
AI brings ICP back into the spotlight
Internet Computer had long remained in the shadow of Solana and Ethereum, but a new wave of interest in artificial intelligence changed the situation. ICP became one of the main beneficiaries of the trend, once again appearing on the list of assets showing a “revival” after a prolonged downturn.
Since late October, when the token dropped to $2.92, the price has nearly tripled. Over the past three months, growth amounted to 51%, although the asset is still far from the January high of $15.30.
The overall AI token market has also revived: the sector’s total capitalization reached $27 billion, and ICP now occupies a prominent place in it.
Rising activity and speculative interest
Amid the general revival of the AI token market, interest in ICP increased by 191%. This surge in attention was accompanied by increased trading activity on derivatives platforms. The open interest in ICP jumped overnight to $162 million.
For comparison, this is a relatively small figure by the standards of top altcoins, but for Internet Computer — it is a quarterly maximum.
So far, the project’s fundamentals remain moderate: locked liquidity in the network is only $23 million, and application development activity is limited. Nevertheless, short-term speculative sentiment dominates the market.
How the short squeeze fueled growth
The main catalyst for the movement was a wave of short liquidations. According to Binance, where most of ICP’s liquidity is concentrated, about $5 million in short positions were liquidated in the past 24 hours. This provided an additional boost to growth.
Notably, only about 30% of open positions in ICP were shorts, which distinguishes it from most altcoins where seller pressure prevails. Over the past weeks, ICP has seen a negative funding rate, making it increasingly expensive to hold short positions.
This situation created ideal conditions for a short squeeze — when forced liquidations of short sellers amplify the upward movement.
Long-awaited awakening
Interestingly, at this moment Internet Computer has actually returned to investors’ radar for the first time in a long while. The project was once positioned as a “Solana killer” and an alternative to Ethereum for hosting applications, but over the past two years it lost much of its influence.
Now the situation may be changing. Price growth and a surge in trading volume are bringing ICP back into the news cycle. Investors tired of stagnation in DeFi and NFT are turning their attention to AI tokens, where there is still an element of novelty and prospects for further growth.
Opportunities and risks
At the time of writing, ICP is trading around $8.60, consolidating above the psychological level of $8. If the momentum continues, analysts allow for growth up to $20, especially if the short squeeze continues and trading volumes increase.
However, risks remain. The token still depends on speculative demand, and the network’s fundamentals have yet to show a breakthrough. Without increased developer and user activity, it will be difficult to establish a long-term trend.
What’s next?
ICP has become one of the few assets able to revive the market amid altcoin stagnation. Its growth coincided with a new wave of interest in the AI theme, which could become a driving force at the end of 2025.
If capital continues to flow into the artificial intelligence sector, Internet Computer may regain some of its lost positions and secure a place among key AI assets. But for this, the project will have to prove that its price growth is backed not only by speculation, but by real technological development.
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