DeXe Protocol’s native token, DEXE, has emerged as one of the strongest-performing AI-centric cryptocurrencies in 2026, surging more than 750% year-to-date.
The rally has outpaced some of the year’s best-performing technology stocks, including Nvidia and Samsung, as crypto traders increasingly seek exposure to decentralized governance and AI-linked infrastructure.
As of Tuesday, DEXE was trading in the $24–$27 range, giving the token a market capitalization of roughly $2.3 billion.
Why Is DEXE Price Going Up?
DEXE’s latest rally has been amplified by a sharp derivatives squeeze.
Over the past 24 hours, traders suffered roughly $406,460 in DEXE liquidations, including $390,120 in shorts versus just $16,340 in longs. In other words, short liquidations accounted for about 96% of the total, showing how aggressively bearish leveraged positions were wiped out as DEXE moved higher.
The setup is not entirely new. Santiment previously identified an extreme DEXE funding-rate imbalance in late June, with traders heavily short on Bybit while positioning long on Binance, a gap that approached 200% on an annualized basis.
The latest liquidation skew suggests short sellers are again getting caught on the wrong side of DEXE’s momentum.
Meanwhile, DEXE’s rally has coincided with a broader rush into AI-linked crypto assets.
For instance, Venice Token (VVV) gained 1,051% year-to-date through May 25, while SKYAI and SIREN rose 838% and 647%, respectively. AI-agent infrastructure project Unibase (UB) gained another 378% over the same period.
DEXE itself was already up 458% at the time.
DEXE Bull Pennant Eyes $46
DEXE’s daily chart is also flashing a bullish continuation setup after its latest vertical rally.
The token appears to be breaking out of a bull pennant, a pattern that forms when price consolidates inside converging trendlines after a sharp advance.
A decisive daily close above the pennant’s upper trendline could confirm the breakout and push DEXE toward $46, based on the structure’s measured move.
DEXE also remains above its 20-day and 50-day exponential moving averages. However, its daily RSI near 70 signals stretched momentum, raising the risk of a short-term pullback before further upside.
