Ethereum (ETH) has been exhibiting signs of weakness, continuing its descent below the $4,000 mark this week. The daily price chart reveals a downward trend, with the cryptocurrency declining by approximately 5.89% over the past seven days. This decline can be attributed to several factors, including a broader market pullback led by Bitcoin.
Nevertheless, amidst this price drop, Ethereum whale activity has surged significantly following the approval of the spot ETH ETF last month. Over the weekend, Ali Martinez, a popular crypto analyst, highlighted this development, noting that Ethereum addresses holding 10,000 or more ETH have increased by 3% in the last three weeks, indicating a significant spike in buying pressure.
Technical analysts also believe ETH is poised for a potential surge. Notably, the cryptocurrency recently broke through its consolidation pattern resistance, spurred by the ETF approval news on May 20th. However, the initial market reaction seemed premature and fueled by rumors, leading to a subsequent consolidation phase.
In a post on TradingView, analyst RLinda noted that ETH is currently forming a consolidation pattern with the potential for an upward breakout.
“The candlestick patterns on W1, D1, and H4 form interesting bullish premises indicating that it is the buyer who is assembling a position with the aim of breaking the $3,830-$3,950 resistance with the aim of rallying and updating ATH.” She wrote.
However, some analysts urge caution. Analyst “Greatest Trader” from CryptoQuant warned that Ethereum’s decline might persist in the short term if market conditions do not improve. Despite ETH’s struggle to surpass the $4,000 mark, he noted that attention is now on the futures market participants’ behavior. He presented a chart showing that the 7-day moving average of the Taker Buy Sell Ratio, which measures the relative aggressiveness of buyers versus sellers, has declined sharply and has not risen above one.
“This trend suggests that the majority of futures traders have been selling Ethereum aggressively, either for speculative purposes or to realize profits. This significant drop in the metric is a bearish signal, suggesting that the current downward retracement could persist if this trend continues.” He stated.
ETH was trading at $3,473 at press time, reflecting a 4.95% drop over the past 24 hours. Notably, the coin’s price experienced a flash crash earlier on Tuesday, partially attributed to a whale dumping roughly 150,000 ETH worth $1.1 billion on Coinbase.