Foreign media commentators believe that the key focus for HBAR before the end of 2026 may not be short-term price performance, but rather Hedera's ability to translate enterprise collaborations into sustained on-chain usage. The article focuses on supply chain scenarios, arguing that such demand, if it becomes part of daily business traffic, could have a greater impact on network activity than market sentiment.
Merck integration is considered the first point of observation.
The article mentions that the integration of Merck and TrackTrace allows Hedera to enter actual supply chain processes, rather than just remaining at the level of a "partnership announcement." If product verification, authenticity checks, and digital recording continue to occur in the system, it could create repetitive network activity on Hedera.
This is also the core focus of the article: a single cooperation announcement may not necessarily change the trend of HBAR; more importantly, it depends on whether such pilot programs can be expanded to a wider range of enterprise deployments.
Anti-counterfeiting needs and compliance scenarios were specifically mentioned.
The article states that industries such as pharmaceuticals, electronics, luxury goods, and food have long faced the problem of counterfeit goods. Linking physical products with verifiable digital records could help companies improve transparency, compliance, and supply chain tracking efficiency.
Under this logic, if Hedera is incorporated into the company's daily verification process, on-chain activities will no longer rely solely on speculative transactions, but will come from repetitive operations such as authentication, auditing, and record updates.
EU DPP rules may create long-term demand
The article also mentions that the EU's Digital Product Passport (DPP) program may create long-term demand for blockchain tracking systems. As companies are required to disclose product origin, sustainability, maintainability, and full lifecycle data, network usage may become more stable if the relevant infrastructure enters the compliance process.
However, the article also points out that what's truly worth observing is not individual announcements, but whether these pilot projects can be implemented on a large scale. Only when enterprises begin to embed the network into their daily operations can HBAR's long-term narrative shift from market hype to sustained use.
As of press time, HBAR was trading at $0.0772, down 2.54% in the last 24 hours. The article states that the token's recent price action has largely followed the overall decline in the crypto market, and its correlation with the S&P 500 index is 0.88, indicating that short-term prices are still more influenced by broad market sentiment.
