Tezos price races higher on McLaren NFT expansion, but XTZ still faces hurdles

Tezos price has caught a bid today on the McLaren news, bouncing from the symmetrical triangle’s lower trend line, but the gain has not shifted the bearish bias of the charts. XTZ still has several technical hurdles to overcome before entertaining a more positive outlook.

New technical partnership focused on sustainability through innovation

McLaren Racing selected Tezos as the team’s official technical partner in a multi-year partnership encompassing the Formula One, INDYCAR and esports divisions.

The agreement will allow McLaren to use the Tezos network, an open-source blockchain for assets and applications, to create a non-fungible token (NFT) platform, meshing the “illustrious racing heritage and renowned driver line-ups” across the multiple racing teams into an exceptional NFT fan experience.

McLaren stressed how vital the Proof-of-Stake model that powers the Tezos network was in sealing the long-term partnership. 

Embracing clean NFTs and energy-efficient networks ensures that the impact of this new medium to share creative expression is not offset by unnecessarily high energy consumption. 

As part of the partnership, the Tezos brand will be represented across the McLaren Formula One and Arrow McLaren SP teams, including on the race suits of McLaren F1 drivers Lando Norris and Daniel Riccardo. Tezos will also be the presenting partner of the McLaren Shadow esports team.

For McLaren, it is an innovative step “in an exciting and rapidly developing industry.” Moreover, it will allow the fans to own important pieces of the team, thereby putting fans at the heart of the McLaren experience.

Tezos gets to leverage a global brand to highlight how their platform is at the “forefront of innovation, providing real-world solutions in a thriving and fast growing ecosystem.”  

Interesting to note, McLaren announced in March it would be creating an official fan token with the Turkish crypto firm Bitci.com.

Tezos price spikes on McLaren news as it contemplates direction

Tezos price has not deviated from the general dislocation in the altcoin space, shaping a similar symmetrical triangle below the strategically important 200-day simple moving average (SMA). The technical continuation pattern formed following the 70% crash from the May 7 high of $8.41 to the May 23 low of $2.42.

Today, Tezos price structure is inconsistent with a bullish outlook as it struggles to hold the triangle’s lower trend line while recording failed attempts to overcome the 200-day SMA in May and June. In addition, XTZ has not shown any relative strength that is consistent with emerging leadership cryptocurrencies, such as MATIC.

The downside may be limited for Tezos price due to the closeness to the May 23 low. Still, a daily close below the lower trend line will be the first necessary confirmation of XTZ intentions to revisit the correction low of $2.42. A secondary confirmation would be a daily close below the June 12 low of $2.92. 

The 2019 rising trend line at $2.49 does offer some friction against the successful sweep of the May 23 low, but in December 2020, Tezos price did briefly drop below the trend line before rebounding.

A decline to the May 23 low from the current price would equate to a 30% loss for stubborn XTZ investors.

XTZ/USD daily chart

It is difficult to recommend a long trade until Tezos price has cleared the 200-day SMA at $3.90 and the triangle’s upper trend line at $3.97 on a daily closing basis. 

The McLaren news is a positive development, but it does not cancel the fact that Tezos price has logged the same path as most altcoins since the steep May correction, reflecting an increased level of risk aversion that was not present in the first five months of 2021. So, for now, potential XTZ investors should embrace the patience to let the digital asset assert itself on the charts with conviction above or below the crucial price levels already mentioned.