Ethereum [ETH], at the time of writing, was trading 2% higher than its closing price the day prior. In fact, its daily trading volume was up by 29% too.
However, recent activities of traders against whales might present a huge dilemma for ETH’s price going forward. Hence, the question – What’s next for Ethereum?
Accumulation meets whales’ sell pressure
According to Binance Futures market, over 67,000 ETH valued at more than $129 million were bought between $1,920 and $1,965. At press time, all this accumulated ETH was sitting right below the price of $1,974.
During the day, trading volumes exploded on both the buy side and the sell side. While the order book liquidity acted as a barrier, it also might have the potential to act as price magnets.
Source: Maartunn/X
However, these large liquidity clusters seemed to be under intense pressure, with whales showing a different bias.
This, because a prominent ETH whale has been selling and continues to do so, as per The Data Nerd. Recently, the whale deposited 82k ETH worth $162 million on Binance. This transaction took the year’s total sale to 475.3k ETH, worth $1.35 billion.
This looming sell pressure could negate the aforementioned accumulation. A sale would accelerate the price decline, as it would wipe out the 67k ETH sitting below $1,920.
On the other hand, more ETH Futures buying would absorb this sell pressure, with the difference between the orders only around $30 million.
ETH consolidation cuts across multiple timeframes
The altcoin’s price action has been trading in a range across multiple timeframes. This may be a sign that ETH was indecisive in terms of strength from bulls and bears.
According to an analysis by Bitcoinsensus, there remains a CME gap at $2,670 that needs to close above the press time price. Usually, the prices tend to close these gaps, which would mean that the altcoin’s value will rise.
Source: Bitcoinsensus/X
The daily chart has been moving sideways for weeks, while also approaching the upper resistance at $2,150. According to analyst Dami-Defi’s observations, the current environment is a tough one to trade, but only after a breakout. Even on the monthly charts, ETH has been in a range since mid-2022, with the price now around the low of this pattern.
This suggested that the patience of long-term ETH enthusiasts has been put to the test for over four years.
According to Trader Tardigrade’s projection, the price action could rise to $22k if it breaks out of the consolidation. Here, it’s worth noting that similar previous consolidations in 2016-2017 and 2019-2021 led to massive pumps.
Source: Trader Tardigrade/X
To put it simply, ETH traders seem to be divided in sentiment, with some whales accelerating their distribution.
On the other hand, the Futures market is being bought, and this contradiction could keep ETH in this range longer.
Final Summary
- Futures traders have been buying Ethereum, while a Spot whale has been selling more volume at the same time.
- ETH’s price action has consolidated across multiple timeframes recently.
