More than 500 long-inactive Ethereum wallets were suddenly compromised, resulting in losses of around $800K. Attackers moved over 260 ETH ($600K) to a flagged address before routing 324 ETH through THORChain, suggesting an attempt to obscure funds. The exact breach method remains unclear, but experts point to exposed private keys, leaked seed phrases, or outdated …
After a shaky start to the year, Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and XRP Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) have recorded their strongest performance in months, signaling strong institutional demand despite the recent market volatility. Related Reading: XRP 2017 Breakout Replay? Analyst Drops Bold Target As Multi-Year Pattern Repeats Bitcoin Leads ETF Boom With $2B Inflows As the crypto market recovered from the start-of-year correction, US spot Bitcoin ETFs kicked off a new positive inflow streak, capping the second straight month of massive gains. The flagship crypto saw an 11.8% rise in April, climbing from the $68,000 mark to the $78,000-$79,000 resistance area for the first time since February, BTC’s strongest monthly gain in a year, according to CoinGlass data. Amid this performance, Bitcoin-based investment products recorded their strongest inflows in six months, with a nine-day streak between April 14 and April 24 totaling $2.1 billion. This marked the longest and largest inflows since the category’s $5.33 billion nine-day streak that ended in early October 2025. Nonetheless, this week’s market volatility, which recently pushed BTC’s price to a weekly low of $74,973, snapped Bitcoin ETFs from their daily and weekly positive spells, pulling nearly half a billion dollars from the funds in just three days. As reported by NewsBTC, the category saw $490 million in outflows between April 27 and April 29, its biggest negative net flows in three months. Despite the recent withdrawals, the funds posted $1.97 billion in April after a mild $14.76 recovery on Thursday, surpassing March’s $1.32 billion and recording their best performance of the year, the first two-month streak since Q4 2025. Notably, these inflows have offset outflows from January and February, with nearly $1.5 billion in net inflows Year-to-Date (YTD). ETH, XRP Funds See April Comeback Like Bitcoin, altcoin-based ETFs also saw a strong performance during the April market recovery, with Ethereum and XRP leading the charge. As ETH’s price printed its second green candle in 2026, its investment products logged their first positive performance of the year. SoSoValue data shows that the category posted $356 million in inflows in April, ending a six-month negative streak totaling $2.8 billion. Ethereum ETFs recorded a 10-day positive spell between April 9 and April 22, bringing in $633.5 million during this period. It’s worth noting that ETH funds remain in red despite the recent inflows, with about $413 million in net outflows during the first four months of 2026. XRP funds also rebounded in April, with inflows totaling $81.59 million. This marked a strong recovery from March’s performance, when the category saw the first red month since its November launch. Related Reading: Bitcoin Faces ‘Most Critical Week In Months’ Amid $76,000 Retest – Should Investors Worry? Similar to Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, the XRP-based products recorded their best daily streak of the year, seeing 14 days of positive net flows between April 10 and April 29. Following this performance, the funds have seen around $124 million in inflows during the first four months of the year, bringing their total cumulative inflows to $1.29 billion. Meanwhile, Solana ETFs continued their seven-month positive streak, posting $38.69 million in inflows last month and recording $251.8 million net inflows for 2026. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
A new security incident has shaken the crypto space after more than 500 long-dormant Ethereum wallets were suddenly drained, resulting in losses of nearly $800,000. The attack, first flagged by analyst WazzCrypto, is raising deeper concerns about old wallet vulnerabilities and long-forgotten private key exposure. Old Ethereum Wallets Become New Targets The affected wallets had …
Ethereum has surged more than 25% since late March, pushing back toward levels that have defined the upper boundary of its recent recovery range and testing resistance that has capped every previous attempt higher. The move has been convincing enough to shift sentiment — but a CryptoQuant analyst has just flagged a divergence in the on-chain data that complicates the bullish reading and raises a question the price chart cannot answer on its own. Related Reading: XRP’s Leverage Has Been Flushed Out, But Price Is Still Holding: Find Out What Follows That Setup The analyst examines the Exchange Supply Ratio — a metric that tracks the relationship between exchange supply and the broader market. Historically, when this ratio drops sharply, it has been accompanied by price declines that form a bottom. The logic is straightforward: falling exchange supply means fewer coins available for immediate sale, which reduces selling pressure and signals that the market is approaching a zone where price tends to find support. The current chart is showing that pattern — but only halfway. The ratio has once again fallen to low levels, confirming the reduction in exchange supply that the indicator is designed to detect. What is missing is the corresponding price decline that has historically accompanied it. Rather than dropping to form a bottom alongside the ratio, Ethereum’s price has continued holding relatively high. That gap — between a ratio that says a bottom should be forming and a price that has not yet corrected to form one — is what the analyst has identified as the divergence that demands attention. The Ratio Has Bottomed. The Price Has Not Followed. That Gap Tends to Close The CryptoQuant analyst’s interpretation of the divergence is direct and does not overcomplicate what the data is describing. The supply reduction that the Exchange Supply Ratio tracks has already occurred — that part of the historical sequence is complete. What has not occurred is the corresponding price movement that has historically accompanied it. The market has received the signal and has not yet responded the way the pattern says it should. The analyst offers a specific explanation for the delay. Derivatives influence can sustain prices at levels that the underlying spot market structure would not support on its own. When leveraged positioning creates artificial demand — bids that exist because of borrowed capital rather than genuine buying conviction — the price can remain resilient longer than the on-chain data suggests it should. That resilience is not a contradiction of the signal. It is a postponement of its resolution. The historical record on these divergences is consistent. They do not tend to resolve upward, with price rallying to justify the elevated level. They tend to resolve downward, with price declining to align with where the ratio says it should be. The gap between the ratio’s current position and the price’s current position is the distance the market may need to travel before the two return to alignment. Ethereum’s 25% surge since late March has been real. The analyst’s warning is not that the recovery was wrong — it is that the price may still need to complete the bottoming process that the ratio has already signaled. The dip may be delayed. According to the data, it is likely not canceled. Related Reading: Ethereum Pullback Sparks $1B Buying Frenzy Despite Hawkish Fed Warning on Inflation — What Changed? Ethereum Reclaims Structure but Faces Heavy Overhead Resistance Ethereum is trading near $2,280 after rebounding from the sub-$2,000 region, but the weekly chart shows a market still caught between recovery and structural resistance. The recent bounce has reclaimed the 50-week moving average, a constructive development, yet price remains compressed beneath the 100-week and 200-week moving averages, which continue to trend sideways to down. This positioning matters. Historically, sustained bullish expansions occur when Ethereum reclaims and holds above these higher time frame averages. Until that happens, rallies tend to behave as relief moves within a broader consolidation or distribution range. Related Reading: Bitcoin Large Players Have Built A Sell Wall At $80.5K–$82K – Spoofing Or Structural Supply? The $2,200–$2,300 zone is now acting as a pivot. It previously served as support during the 2024 structure and is currently being retested from below. The market’s ability to hold this level will determine whether the recent move evolves into a trend reversal or fades into another lower high. Volume does not yet confirm a strong conviction. While the bounce from the lows was sharp, follow-through buying has been relatively muted compared to prior impulsive phases, suggesting cautious participation. A break above $2,600 would shift the structure decisively and open the path toward $3,000. Failure to hold $2,200 would expose Ethereum to renewed downside, with $1,900 acting as the next major support zone. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
Bitcoin is trading below a key cost threshold that short-term holders paid to acquire it — a sign that many recent buyers are sitting on losses heading into one of the largest options expiry events of the month. Related Reading: 23 Billion+ XRP Already Quantum Safe, According To New Wallet Analysis Bitcoin: Bears Hold The Edge Going Into Expiry Glassnode data shows Bitcoin is currently priced under the Short-Term Holder Cost Basis of $78,900, and also below the True Market Mean of $78,000. Support is seen further down, in the $65,000–$70,000 range. That backdrop sets a cautious tone as roughly 23,000 Bitcoin options contracts — worth $1.74 billion — are set to expire today on derivatives exchange Deribit. The put-call ratio for those contracts sits at 1.10, meaning more traders are betting on price declines than on gains. Bitcoin’s max pain price — the level where the greatest number of options expire worthless — is $76,000, slightly below where it was trading at press time around $77,200. Deribit has flagged the settlement as one to watch closely, with data showing a 95% probability that Bitcoin options expire above that $76,000 mark. Heavy volume is concentrated at the $75,500 and $77,000 strike prices. ???? May 1st Options Expiry Alert. At 08:00 UTC today, ~$2.14B in crypto options are set to expire on Deribit.$BTC: ~$1.74B notional | Put/Call: 1.10 | Max Pain: $76,000$ETH: ~$394M notional | Put/Call: 0.95 | Max Pain: $2,325 BTC spot pinned right at max pain. ETH trading… pic.twitter.com/UC2GkTnBMb — Deribit (@DeribitOfficial) May 1, 2026 In the past 24 hours, the put-call ratio for Bitcoin trading activity climbed to 0.73, while overall volume dropped. The Federal Reserve’s decision to hold interest rates unchanged contributed to the slowdown. Ethereum Sits Below Its Own Pain Point Ethereum is facing similar pressure. More than 175,000 ETH options worth $400 million are expiring on Deribit today, with a put-call ratio of 0.95. In the last 24 hours alone, put volume rose sharply past call volume, pushing that ratio to 1.17 — a sign traders are adjusting for potential downside. What makes Ethereum’s situation slightly different is where it’s trading relative to max pain. The ETH max pain price is $2,325, but the token was changing hands around $2,284 at the time of writing — already below that level. Its 24-hour range ran from $2,232 to $2,293. Trading volume fell 45% over the past day. Broader Pressures Weigh On Crypto Markets The options expiry is not happening in a vacuum. US PCE inflation came in at a three-year high of 3.5%, rattling broader markets and prompting profit-taking across crypto. Oil prices rose to $106 a barrel as the US maintained a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Reports indicate US President Donald Trump has rejected Iran’s offer to end the standoff, with reports of a possible escalation adding to market unease. Related Reading: Bitcoin Bull Run Brewing: ATH In Sight By Late 2026: Analyst Together, those factors have kept buyers cautious. Crypto markets saw widespread selling after the inflation data dropped, and uncertainty around the geopolitical situation has not eased. Whether today’s options expiry adds to that pressure — or passes without incident — may depend on whether Bitcoin can hold above the $76,000 mark when contracts settle. Featured image from Gemini, chart from TradingView
Ethereum has held above $2,250 as the market builds toward what feels like a decisive move in either direction. The recovery from the February lows has been real and sustained — but according to top analyst Darkfost, the participants who should be most convinced by it are doing the opposite of what conviction looks like. Related Reading: XRP’s Leverage Has Been Flushed Out, But Price Is Still Holding: Find Out What Follows That Setup The context behind that observation starts with how severe the preceding correction was. ETH fell approximately 65% from its last peak — a decline that placed it among the hardest-hit assets in a downturn that damaged the entire altcoin market. TOTAL2, which measures the combined market cap of altcoins excluding Bitcoin and stablecoins, shed more than 51% of its value over the same period. The selling was broad, deep, and extended enough to leave lasting marks on participant psychology. The recovery since then has been meaningful. Ethereum is now trading more than 30% above the low it recorded on February 6 — a recovery that, in any normal market environment, would be drawing fresh buyers and building bullish consensus. That consensus has not formed. Darkfost’s data shows that despite the 30% recovery, most investors remain unconvinced. They are not sitting on the sidelines waiting for confirmation. They are actively taking aggressive short positions against a market that has already moved significantly higher — a posture that sets up a specific dynamic the data is now making visible. The Last Time Funding Looked Like This, the Bear Market Was Ending Darkfost’s funding rate data is where the setup becomes historically significant. Throughout Ethereum’s 30% recovery from the February lows, funding rates on Binance have remained persistently negative — not briefly, not as a daily fluctuation, but as a sustained, month-long condition that reflects the collective positioning of participants who refuse to believe the rebound is real. The monthly average funding rate currently sits at -0.0018. The last time funding remained this negative for this long was November 2022 — during the FTX collapse, at the end of the previous bear market. Darkfost is careful to note that today’s environment is not comparable to that moment in any fundamental sense. What is comparable is the behavioral fingerprint: a market recovering while the majority of derivatives participants position aggressively against it, paying persistently to maintain short exposure even as the price moves higher. That bet is already extracting a cost. Short liquidation volumes have been rising as Ethereum’s upward momentum forces overleveraged positions out of the market. Each forced liquidation removes a short and adds buying pressure, which creates the potential for the recovery to feed on itself as more shorts are caught and closed. Markets rarely reward the kind of consensus that currently surrounds Ethereum’s short side. The FTX-era parallel is not a prediction. It is a reminder that the strongest moves tend to start precisely when the most people are positioned against them. Related Reading: Ethereum Pullback Sparks $1B Buying Frenzy Despite Hawkish Fed Warning on Inflation — What Changed? Ethereum Tests Structure As Momentum Stalls Below Resistance Ethereum is trading around $2,280 after a steady recovery from its February capitulation low near $1,800, but the chart shows a market losing momentum as it approaches a key resistance cluster. Price is now compressing between the rising short-term trend (around the 50-day moving average) and the descending 100-day and 200-day moving averages, which continue to slope downward and cap upside attempts. The recent structure is constructive but not yet bullish. Higher lows since mid-March indicate accumulation, yet each push toward the $2,350–$2,450 region has been rejected, forming a clear supply zone. This repeated failure suggests sellers remain active at higher levels, likely using rallies to distribute. Related Reading: Bitcoin Large Players Have Built A Sell Wall At $80.5K–$82K – Spoofing Or Structural Supply? Volume reinforces the hesitation. The recovery phase has not matched the intensity seen during the February selloff, implying that the current move lacks strong conviction. Buyers are present, but not aggressive enough to absorb overhead supply decisively. From a structural standpoint, Ethereum is coiling. A clean break above $2,450 would shift momentum and open the path toward reclaiming the $2,700 region. Conversely, losing the $2,200–$2,250 support area would invalidate the higher-low structure and expose the market to a deeper retracement back toward $2,000 or lower. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
In an environment where tighter monetary policy typically pressures risk assets, Ethereum has attracted over $1 billion in buying interest despite a hawkish stance from the Federal Reserve, which typically tightens liquidity and weighs on markets. That kind of inflow suggests that investors aren’t just reacting to short-term narratives, but are positioning around longer-term conviction in the network. Why Ethereum Is Holding Strong Against A Hawkish Federal Reserve Ethereum is showing a notable mix of short-term weakness and underlying demand, despite the hawkish Fed macro backdrop that is in place. Crypto analyst Darkfost has highlighted on X that ETH recently rebounded above $2,450 before facing a roughly 10% correction despite the price still trading within a broader range. Related Reading: Ethereum Traders Shift: Spot Market Weakness Drives Rise In Derivatives Trading The move back below the $2,300 level could have signaled weakness, but instead it appears to have triggered aggressive buying interest. Within 1 hour, the taker buy volume on Binance surged above $1 billion. A similar reaction was also seen on OKX, where nearly $20 million in buying flows were recorded over the same period. That kind of move suggests that these price levels are where some investors aggressively stepped in on the long side, waiting to take advantage of the pullback. This buying move came even as the Federal Reserve had announced that it would keep interest rates unchanged in the 3.5% to 3.75% range. Also, the institution indicated that short-term inflation could move higher, notably due to the rise in energy prices. Darkfost noted that despite this relatively Hawkish tone, some market participants still appear willing to bet on a more constructive short-term outlook for ETH. Why The Next Decade Could Be Transformational For Ethereum The disconnection between expectation and reality is where most investors go wrong with Ethereum. According to Shibatarzan, many enter the market expecting a quick upside in a few weeks, and when that doesn’t happen, they feel disappointed. In reality, investing in ETH should be based on where it can stand over the next 10 to 20 years. Related Reading: Ethereum Net Taker Volume Rises To Most Positive Level Since 2023 – Bullish Reversal Soon? Shibatarzan stated that in the meantime, the journey won’t be smooth, it will have drawdowns. In fact, those periods of weakness often present the best opportunities to accumulate. Also, there’s a shift happening in how investors engage with ETH. Instead of simply holding, many investors are finding ways to make their assets productive, through platforms like Strato_net, turning idle capital into yield while waiting for the broader thesis to play out. In Strato_net, investors are not just investing in an asset, but investing in the future of an ecosystem. Over the last 5 years, ETH has been developing at an incredible pace, with Shibatarzan predicting that the next 10 to 20 years of ETH will bring larger progress, drawing a parallel to the early internet days. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com
Bitmine Immersion Technologies, led by Tom Lee, has added roughly $508 million in Ethereum to its staking operations, according to on-chain data from Arkham Intelligence. The firm now has more than 4 million ETH staked, valued at nearly $9.3 billion, representing about 10.5% of the network’s total staked supply. This aggressive strategy locks up large …
Ethereum price started a fresh decline and traded below $2,250. ETH is now consolidating above $2,220 and might struggle to recover. Ethereum started a downside correction below the $2,265 zone. The price is trading below $2,280 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There is a contracting triangle forming with support at $2,255 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken). The pair could start a fresh increase if it stays above the $2,220 zone. Ethereum Price Faces Resistance Ethereum price failed to remain stable above $2,300 and started a downside correction, like Bitcoin. ETH price dipped below the $2,280 and $2,265 levels. The price even traded below $2,250. A low was formed at $2,220, and the price is now consolidating losses. There was a minor upward move above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $2,345 swing high to the $2,220 low. Ethereum price is now trading below $2,270 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. Besides, there is a contracting triangle forming with support at $2,255 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. If the bulls remain in action above $2,250, the price could attempt another increase. Immediate resistance is seen near the $2,280 level or the 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $2,345 swing high to the $2,220 low. The first key resistance is near the $2,300 level. The next major resistance is near the $2,320 level. A clear move above the $2,320 resistance might send the price toward the $2,375 resistance. An upside break above the $2,375 region might call for more gains in the coming days. In the stated case, Ether could rise toward the $2,420 resistance zone or even $2,440 in the near term. Another Decline In ETH? If Ethereum fails to clear the $2,280 resistance, it could start a fresh decline. Initial support on the downside is near the $2,255 level. The first major support sits near the $2,220 zone. A clear move below the $2,220 support might push the price toward the $2,165 support. Any more losses might send the price toward the $2,150 region. The main support could be $2,120. Technical Indicators Hourly MACD – The MACD for ETH/USD is losing momentum in the bearish zone. Hourly RSI – The RSI for ETH/USD is now above the 50 zone. Major Support Level – $2,220 Major Resistance Level – $2,280
Ethereum is struggling to hold the $2,250 level as selling pressure reasserts itself. And the market faces resistance that has capped every recovery attempt in recent sessions. The correction following the push above $2,450 has now reached roughly 10%, and the mood among participants is cautious. But according to top analyst Darkfost, the price weakness is producing a specific reaction in the order flow data that changes how the current selloff should be read. Related Reading: Bitcoin Large Players Have Built A Sell Wall At $80.5K–$82K – Spoofing Or Structural Supply? The move below $2,300 today did not go unnoticed. Within a single hour of the level breaking, Taker Buy Volume on Binance surged above $1 billion — aggressive, market-order buying that reflects participants making deliberate, high-conviction decisions at speed rather than cautiously waiting for confirmation. A comparable reaction appeared simultaneously on OKX, where nearly $20 million in buying flows were recorded over the same period. The significance of that response is not the price level itself but what it reveals about who is on the other side of the selling. When $1 billion in buy orders enter the market within sixty minutes of a key support breaking, it does not describe a market that has given up on the level. It describes a market where a specific category of participant has decided that $2,300 represents an opportunity worth acting on aggressively — regardless of the direction the price was moving when they pulled the trigger. $1 Billion Spent Against a Hawkish Fed. That Is Not Noise Darkfost frames the buy surge with a context that makes it more significant than a routine dip-buying response. The $1 billion in Taker Buy Volume on Binance did not arrive in a neutral macro environment. It arrived immediately after the Federal Reserve announced it would hold rates within the 3.5% to 3.75% range — and simultaneously signaled that short-term inflation could move higher again, driven in part by rising energy prices. That is not a backdrop that typically encourages aggressive risk deployment. A Fed holding rates at elevated levels while warning of renewed inflation pressure is the definition of a hawkish posture — one that has historically prompted crypto participants to reduce exposure rather than add to it. The participants who deployed $1 billion within sixty minutes of the $2,300 break made that choice with the Fed’s message already in the room. What Darkfost identifies in that behavior is a specific category of conviction. These are not buyers reacting to price momentum or chasing a recovery. They are participants who looked at a 10% correction, a hawkish Fed, and a broken support level and decided the risk-reward at $2,300 was worth taking aggressively. Whether that conviction proves correct depends on what follows. But the willingness to deploy institutional-scale capital against unfavorable macro conditions at a specific price level is itself the signal — one that the price chart alone would never reveal. Related Reading: DeFi Deleveraging Hits AAVE – Analyst Explains Why Borrowing Demand Falls Off A Cliff Ethereum Tests Structure As Momentum Stalls Below Resistance Ethereum is trading around $2,260, holding a level that sits at the intersection of short-term support and medium-term indecision. After the sharp capitulation in early February, price established a base near the $1,800–$2,000 zone before initiating a gradual recovery. That recovery, however, has now stalled beneath a clear resistance cluster between $2,350 and $2,450, where multiple rejection wicks confirm persistent sell-side pressure. The moving averages reinforce this structure. ETH remains below the 200-day moving average, which continues to slope downward, signaling that the broader trend has not yet shifted bullish. At the same time, price is compressing between the 50-day and 100-day averages, reflecting a tightening range where momentum is fading and volatility is contracting. Related Reading: Crypto Traders Just Moved $100 Billion In Gold Volume: Find Out What Is Driving The Rush Volume behavior adds another layer. The spike during the February selloff marked a clear capitulation event, but subsequent recovery phases have shown declining volume, suggesting that the rebound lacks strong conviction. Recent sessions show relatively muted participation, consistent with consolidation rather than accumulation. Technically, Ethereum is coiling. A breakdown below the $2,200–$2,250 support zone would expose the $2,000 level again, while a reclaim of $2,400 is required to invalidate the current lower-high structure and shift momentum meaningfully. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
The Arbitrum Security Council froze 30,766 ETH that the Kelp DAO attacker had moved to an Arbitrum One address.
The latest holder data from Santiment shows that crypto adoption is still increasing, even as prices are without a clear bullish trend across the market. Bitcoin is approaching a major wallet milestone, XRP has continued to grow its user base, and Ethereum is dominating the field by a wide margin. Numbers Reveal A Surge In Adoption New figures from on-chain analytics platform Santiment show that cryptocurrencies are witnessing intense adoption across the board. This data is particularly gotten from the holder count from Santiment, which looks at the number of addresses with non-empty balances. Of the bunch, Bitcoin, XRP, and Ethereum are posting numbers that are noteworthy. Related Reading: Here’s Why The Bitcoin And Ethereum Prices Have Been Rising And Falling Sharply Bitcoin’s holder count is now one of the clearest signs of adoption across the crypto industry. Santiment’s latest data shows Bitcoin is currently at about 59.08 million non-empty wallets, bringing the network close to the 60 million mark. This means Bitcoin has built one of the largest ownership bases in crypto despite several months of difficult price action and correction from its 2025 price peak. The timing of Bitcoin’s wallet growth is important because it is coming at the same time institutional demand is starting to improve again. Data from SoSoValue shows that Spot Bitcoin ETF flows witnessed positive flows in March and April, after four straight months of net outflows from late November 2025 through February 2026 that totaled about $4 billion. Santiment’s data places XRP’s non-empty wallet count at 7.8 million. That figure, when viewed in isolation, is somewhat modest against Bitcoin’s tally. However, when viewed in context, it reflects a network that has increased in adoption with unusual consistency over the past 18 months since it started trading in the US again. This growth is also notable because XRP has not had the kind of price performance that would usually be expected to accompany a rising holder base. A Broader Market In Expansion The Santiment snapshot is not limited to only Bitcoin and XRP, and it places the cryptocurrencies in context compared to the rest of the market. According to Santiment, Ethereum is nearing 190 million non-empty wallets for the first time in its history, putting it far ahead of every other large-cap crypto asset tracked in the dataset. Ethereum’s 189.5 million non-empty wallets is itself a headline number, one that places it at 3.2 times Bitcoin’s holder count. Related Reading: Analyst Says High XRP Price Targets Are Dangerous, Here’s Why XRP’s 7.8 million non-empty wallets place it below Dogecoin’s 8.25 million and Tether’s 13.61 million on Ethereum, but above USDC’s 6.76 million, Cardano’s 4.63 million, and Chainlink’s 870,720 non-empty wallets. These holder numbers show how far crypto adoption has grown. Research estimates that about 559 million people now own cryptocurrency in 2026, representing a 9.9% global adoption rate, with further growth expected when clearer regulations take shape in the US and other major jurisdictions. Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com
Crypto markets are under pressure today as the Federal Reserve reinforces a “no rush to cut” stance, tightening expectations around liquidity. Despite holding rates steady, the central bank pointed to prolonged restrictive conditions, which historically weighs on high-risk assets like crypto. Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP have all moved lower as liquidity expectations tightened and risk …
Ethereum price started a fresh decline and traded below $2,265. ETH is now consolidating above $2,220 and might struggle to recover. Ethereum started a downside correction below the $2,280 zone. The price is trading below $2,300 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There was a break below a rising channel with support at $2,295 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken). The pair could start a fresh increase if it stays above the $2,220 zone. Ethereum Price Dips Further Ethereum price failed to remain stable above $2,320 and started a downside correction, like Bitcoin. ETH price dipped below the $2,300 and $2,280 levels. There was a break below a rising channel with support at $2,295 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. The price even spiked to $2,220. A low was formed at $2,220, and the price is now consolidating losses. There was a minor upward move above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $2,345 swing high to the $2,220 low. Ethereum price is now trading below $2,280 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. If the bulls remain in action above $2,220, the price could attempt another increase. Immediate resistance is seen near the $2,265 level. The first key resistance is near the $2,280 level and the 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $2,345 swing high to the $2,220 low. The next major resistance is near the $2,300 level. A clear move above the $2,300 resistance might send the price toward the $2,345 resistance. An upside break above the $2,345 region might call for more gains in the coming days. In the stated case, Ether could rise toward the $2,400 resistance zone or even $2,420 in the near term. Downside Continuation In ETH? If Ethereum fails to clear the $2,280 resistance, it could start a fresh decline. Initial support on the downside is near the $2,230 level. The first major support sits near the $2,220 zone. A clear move below the $2,220 support might push the price toward the $2,165 support. Any more losses might send the price toward the $2,150 region. The main support could be $2,120. Technical Indicators Hourly MACD – The MACD for ETH/USD is gaining momentum in the bearish zone. Hourly RSI – The RSI for ETH/USD is now below the 50 zone. Major Support Level – $2,220 Major Resistance Level – $2,280
While Ethereum (ETH) is at a pivotal crossroads, some analysts suggest that a reclaim of a key resistance could open the door to a massive breakout. However, others have raised questions about the altcoin’s next move amid the recent market volatility and weak signals. Related Reading: Bitcoin Faces ‘Most Critical Week In Months’ Amid $76,000 Retest – Should Investors Worry? Ethereum Breakout: ‘A Matter Of When’ Ethereum has found a new price range after turning the $2,250 level into support during the April market recovery. The cryptocurrency has been trading between the $2,250-$2,400 levels over the past few weeks, reaching a three-month high of $2,465 on April 17. In an X post, analyst Michaël van de Poppe highlighted ETH’s recent performance, asserting that its upward price pattern held, despite the price being rejected from the $2,400 resistance, a key psychological and technical barrier that has stopped prior rallies. As he explained, “Structure remains intact, and multiple resistance tests have failed to break through, suggesting a breakout is looming.” To him, a breakout from the local resistance area is “a matter of when (…) and not if.” The analyst recently stated that the King of Altcoins could be “about to follow Bitcoin in the path upwards,” which would open the gate for a retest of the next crucial resistance around the $2,700 area. Meanwhile, market observer Ali Martinez shared an analysis based on the MVRV pricing bands, noting that Ethereum has been attempting to reclaim its Realized Price, currently at $2,335, as support. He explained that successfully turning this level into a support floor is a “standard technical prerequisite” for a sustained rally, and reclaiming the cost basis has historically helped build the momentum to reach the 2.4MVRV pricing band at the $5,600 mark. According to the post, ETH needs continuation of the strength seen during the early April recovery rally to reclaim its Realized Price and open the gates to a 140% rally over time. “If ETH can claim this $2,335 level and establish it as a support floor, it creates the structural conditions to target that upper $5,600 band,” he affirmed. ETH Weakness Risks 17% Correction On Wednesday morning, Ethereum attempted to recover from the start-of-the-week price drop and reclaim the $2,300 area. Amid this performance, Crypto Batman highlighted that ETH had broken down from a two-week pennant pattern after losing the $2,320 support line, suggesting that the short-term trend had shifted bearish. The analyst cautioned that failing to reclaim the bullish trendline and the bearish FVG would open the door for lower levels. Similarly, Ted Pillows warned that Ethereum has shown weakness amid the current rally, highlighting that it needs to reclaim the $2,400 area for a strong continuation. On the contrary, failure to reclaim this level risks turning the current pump into exit liquidity, he affirmed, potentially triggering another sharp pullback. The market watcher also stated that ETH could see a considerable decline over the next few days due to Wednesday’s FOMC meeting. Related Reading: Bitcoin Set For $88,000? Analysts Forecast May Breakout After Key Weekly Close Notably, the King of Altcoins has retraced after each meeting since October 2025, dropping 17% to 42% in the following days. After today’s meeting, the altcoin fell to a two-week low of $2,220, recording a 5% intraday drop before slightly recovering. If history repeats itself, Ethereum could lose the $2,200 support and potentially target the $2,000 psychological barrier for the first time in a month. Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
Crypto markets turned lower today as two major macro developments hit simultaneously. The Federal Reserve held interest rates unchanged in what marks Jerome Powell’s final policy decision as Fed Chair, while President Trump rejected Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and signalled a fresh wave of military strikes is being prepared. Bitcoin fell …
Crypto pundit SMQKE has shared an important thing that XRP holders have to remember when it comes to the altcoin’s price. He alluded to the token’s historical price appreciation and noted that XRP is better positioned to record more significant gains following Ripple’s recent acquisitions. What To Remember About XRP’s Price In an X post, SMQKE reminded XRP holders that the token delivered nearly 350x returns between 2017 and 2018, while Bitcoin and Ethereum gained 14x and 100x, respectively, during that period. He noted that this means XRP’s price increase was roughly 24x steeper than Bitcoin’s. Related Reading: XRP Ledger Hits New RWA Milestone, But Will This Have Any Impact On The Price? The pundit remarked that this occurred before Ripple completed any of its major institutional acquisitions, with XRP recording those gains simply due to early network momentum. Now, the fundamentals are believed to be more bullish as Ripple has completed strategic acquisitions of over $3 billion since 2017 to build institutional-grade infrastructure. SMQKE stated that these key moves include Ripple’s 2023 acquisition of Metaco for $250 million, which now provides bank-grade custody used by G-SIBs. In 2024, the crypto firm acquired Standard Custody, which is a New York-regulated trust services provider. Most of its acquisitions came last year, which have been bullish for XRP. Ripple acquired Hidden Road, which is now Ripple Prime, for $1.25 billion. SMQKE noted that this is a prime brokerage that clears trillions annually. Ripple also acquired the stablecoin payments platform Rail, the corporate treasury management platform GTreasury, and the wallet and custody provider Palisade last year. The pundit stated that these acquisitions create a much stronger foundation for durable price appreciation in XRP. He also alluded to the potential integration of XRP into SWIFT, FedNow, and DTCC. Based on this, SMQKE remarked that the altcoin’s past returns may have only been a preview of what its future network value could become. Why Price Is Still Low SMQKE alluded to a statement from former Ripple executive Marcus Treacher, who noted that XRP isn’t a speculative currency but rather a long-term play for the future. He highlighted how the altcoin could grow massively in value over the long term as a result of what Ripple is building with XRP. Related Reading: XRP OI Z-Score Just Dropped To Levels Seen Before Its 600% Rally In 2024 Treacher noted that transforming how payments work worldwide is a big deal and that once they achieve this with the XRP Ledger, everything else will start to fall into place. Meanwhile, SMQKE mentioned that news doesn’t move prices and that utility does. As such, he suggested that the focus should be on expanding XRP’s use cases and that the price will rise significantly as the altcoin continues to gain adoption. At the time of writing, the XRP price is trading at around $1.39, up in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from Tradingview.com
Ethereum and Solana are once again under close watch as fresh data reveals how both networks are performing, with recent fee metrics and on-chain activity offering a clearer picture of where momentum currently sits. Ethereum Vs. Solana: Fee Dominance And Growing Activity Recent figures directly address how both networks compare, showing Ethereum building a clear lead in economic activity. Data shared on April 24, 2026, by @ETH_Daily revealed that Ethereum had been generating more total fees than Solana for over a week. In the most recent 24-hour snapshot, Ethereum recorded approximately $2.7 million in fees, while Solana produced about $70,000. This 40 times gap highlights a sustained difference rather than a short-term fluctuation. Related Reading: XRP’s 900% Move To $15: Pundit Flags The Retest That Will Trigger It The fee chart tied to this update provides further clarity. Ethereum’s fee levels, which had been moving within moderate ranges earlier in the period, surged sharply toward nearly $2.75 million. In contrast, Solana’s fees fluctuated within a tighter band before declining significantly, eventually approaching minimal levels. Beyond fees, on-chain data adds another layer to the comparison. On April 27, 2026, @CryptoQuant reported that Ethereum’s active addresses had climbed to record highs even as its price moved lower. The dataset, attributed to CryptoOnchain, shows activity nearing 600,000 addresses while price levels remain below previous peaks near $4,000 and closer to around $2,300. This divergence between rising participation and softer price action suggests that Ethereum’s usage is expanding independently of market valuation. The combination of strong fee generation and increasing address activity points to growing demand, particularly in areas involving higher-value transactions and decentralized finance. The fact that users continue to transact despite higher costs indicates that Ethereum is capturing a larger share of meaningful economic activity. Ethereum Vs. Solana: Usage Patterns And Market Signals Looking at the same period, Solana’s performance reflects a different activity structure. The network’s lower fee output suggests that transaction values are comparatively smaller or that overall high-value usage has declined. This does not diminish its role in the market, but it does highlight a gap when measured by revenue generated from network use. Related Reading: Why The 42% Crash From ATH Is Actually Good For Bitcoin And The Crypto Market The contrast becomes more defined when aligning both fee data and on-chain signals. Ethereum’s sustained lead in fees over more than a week indicates consistent demand for its block space, while Solana’s lower figures point to a network where activity is either less monetized or concentrated in lower-cost transactions. This difference is significant because fees are often viewed as a direct reflection of how much value users are moving across a blockchain. At the same time, the divergence identified by CryptoQuant reinforces Ethereum’s position, with rising active addresses during a period of price weakness signaling sustained engagement. No comparable signal appears for Solana in the same dataset, leaving Ethereum with clearer indicators of growing usage. Overall, the data shows Ethereum with stronger underlying activity and higher economic throughput, while Solana reflects more moderately monetized usage during this period. Featured image from Dune Analytics, chart from TradingView.com
The Ethereum whale address received the ETH on July 30, 2015, after participating in the ICO event with $3,100.
Ethereum price started a fresh decline and traded below $2,300. ETH is now consolidating above $2,250 and might struggle to recover. Ethereum started a downside correction below the $2,320 zone. The price is trading below $2,320 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There is a bearish trend line forming with resistance at $2,300 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken). The pair could start a fresh increase if it stays above the $2,250 zone. Ethereum Price Extends Losses Ethereum price failed to remain stable above $2,330 and started a downside correction, like Bitcoin. ETH price dipped below the $2,320 and $2,300 levels. The price even spiked below $2,265. A low was formed at $2,256, and the price is now consolidating losses. There was a minor upward move above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $2,404 swing high to the $2,256 low. Ethereum price is now trading below $2,300 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. If the bulls remain in action above $2,250, the price could attempt another increase. Immediate resistance is seen near the $2,300 level. There is also a bearish trend line forming with resistance at $2,300 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. The first key resistance is near the $2,330 level and the 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $2,404 swing high to the $2,256 low. The next major resistance is near the $2,370 level. A clear move above the $2,370 resistance might send the price toward the $2,400 resistance. An upside break above the $2,400 region might call for more gains in the coming days. In the stated case, Ether could rise toward the $2,500 resistance zone or even $2,550 in the near term. More Losses In ETH? If Ethereum fails to clear the $2,300 resistance, it could start a fresh decline. Initial support on the downside is near the $2,250 level. The first major support sits near the $2,220 zone. A clear move below the $2,220 support might push the price toward the $2,180 support. Any more losses might send the price toward the $2,155 region. The main support could be $2,120. Technical Indicators Hourly MACD – The MACD for ETH/USD is gaining momentum in the bearish zone. Hourly RSI – The RSI for ETH/USD is now below the 50 zone. Major Support Level – $2,250 Major Resistance Level – $2,330
Bitmine’s aggressive accumulation of Ethereum isn’t just another headline; it’s a signal that a new corporate strategy may be taking shape in the digital asset space. At a time when most firms are still cautiously exploring digital assets, Bitmine is moving with conviction, building one of the largest ETH positions and signaling a shift in how companies may think about balance sheets, capital allocation, and long-term positioning. How Ethereum Is Becoming More Than A Passive Treasury Asset Bitmine Immersion Technologies, Inc. (BMNR) had just become one of the largest Ethereum holders in the industry. Even though the company is down $6 billion on the position, it is still buying. The co-founder of GlydeGG, Jeremy, has revealed on X that Bitmine has invested $17.34 billion in ETH, with 100% allocation, and is sitting on an unrealized loss of roughly $6.35 billion. Related Reading: Bitmine’s Ethereum Holdings Reach Record 5 Million Tokens–CEO’s Bullish Outlook Despite that, the company didn’t sell a single coin and instead added another 101,627 ETH last week alone, marking its largest weekly accumulation of 2026. According to Jeremy, Bitmine has stated that the company’s goal is to own 5% of all ETH issued, and they are already at 4.12%, which places them among the largest holders in the ecosystem. However, 73% of their holding are staked, generating an estimated $264 million in annualized revenue. There’s precedent for this kind of strategy. MicroStrategy, now widely known as Strategy, made a similar aggressive move with Bitcoin, transforming its corporate treasury playbook into a leveraged bet on a single digital asset. Furthermore, Bitmine appears to be applying the same logic to ETH, and the firm is already down $6 billion and still buying. What ETH’s Lowest Exchange Supply Ratio Since 2016 Signals Ethereum is flashing one of its strongest structural signals in years. A crypto investor known as Milk Road on X highlighted that the ETH Exchange Supply Ratio (ESR) has dropped to 0.122, the lowest level since 2016. Related Reading: Ethereum Gains Institutional Spotlight – Here’s What The CEO Of Etherealize Has To Say Amid the drop, the Ethereum Foundation has been actively selling and recently offloaded 10,000 ETH for $23.8 million on April 24, and then unstaked another $48.9 million. Simultaneously, they have been routing sales Over-the-Counter (OTC), not through exchanges. ETH exchange supply has been falling. Despite buyers absorbing every offer, the exchange supply ratio hasn’t moved upward. At the same time, the ETH supply is being systematically removed from circulation, and roughly 39.2 million ETH, which is about 31.5% of the total supply, is now staked. Milk Road noted that more than 3 million ETH are queued for staking entry over the next 52 days, indicating that supply is getting locked away faster than sellers can move it. The decline in exchange availability and rising staking participation show a price that hasn’t caught on yet. Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com
Ethereum’s long stretch of sideways movement may be closer to resolution than most market participants expect. A higher time frame analysis shared by a TradingView analyst suggests the current structure is the final stage before a larger expansion that sees the Ethereum price rallying by over 100% in 2026. This prediction rests on decades of price history that, taken together, present a compelling case. Ethereum has done this before, the structure is intact, and a 100% move from the current price level is possible. A Six-Year Consolidation Hiding A Bullish Structure Technical analysis of higher timeframe charts, particularly the monthly candlestick timeframe, shows that Ethereum has spent much of the past six years locked in a wide consolidation range, with repeated failures between $4,500 and $4,900. That range has acted as a ceiling across multiple attempts, consistently attracting selling pressure each time price approaches it. To understand where Ethereum may be going, a technical analyst known as Phil on the TradingView platform noted that traders must first understand where it has been. Not in weeks or months, but across the full sweep of its market history. Related Reading: XRP’s 900% Move To $15: Pundit Flags The Retest That Will Trigger It Two moments stand out as structural inflection points on the monthly chart. The first came in early 2017, when the ETH price broke above the $40 psychological resistance level after repeatedly failing to clear it throughout 2016. That was the ignition point for a rally of about 7,500%. The second came in mid-2020, when Ethereum, having spent two years consolidating inside a falling wedge pattern, staged another breakout from the lower support trendline of that formation, launching a continuation rally of roughly 1,900%. Ethereum Price Chart. Source: TradingView The Breakout Path To A 100% Rally What followed both breakouts was a prolonged period of sideways price action, and that is precisely where Ethereum finds itself again. ETH has now been consolidating for almost six years below $4,900. The overall bullish trend, however, has not been broken. Corrections since 2021 have led to the creation of higher lows, and this is playing out an ascending triangle pattern on the monthly timeframe. Ethereum has already pulled back roughly 25% from its recent highs, easing bearish momentum into the support region of the triangle pattern. Related Reading: Why The 42% Crash From ATH Is Actually Good For Bitcoin And The Crypto Market On the other, the $2,000 psychological level, which ETH tested just weeks ago, provides a second significant floor. As it stands, ETH has already bounced approximately 8% on the monthly chart since the $2,000 low was reached and held. The next step, according to the analysis, would be confirmation through higher lows and a push away from support. If the support holds and bullish confirmation develops, the path forward becomes relatively straightforward from a technical standpoint. The first major target is a return to the $4,500 resistance range. A clean break above that level would finalize the completion of the ascending triangle. According to the analyst, this is expected to play out a 100% rally in 2026. Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com
Kelp says it used the default configuration for its LayerZero-powered Decentralized Verifier Network that was exploited.
Following a bullish weekly close, the crypto markets were believed to break above the bearish influence. Meanwhile, the fresh sell-offs restricted the rally, initiating a notable correction with the Bitcoin price struggling to hold above $75,000. Besides, Ethereum price slides below $2,300 and is currently trading around $2,270 vehicle XRP price plunges from $1.44 to …
Ethereum is holding above $2,300 as the market faces a critical test of whether the current recovery has the structural foundation to extend further. The price action is tentative — but a CryptoQuant report has just surfaced supply data that reframes what the current consolidation is actually building on. Related Reading: XRP’s Recovery Is Real, But The Risk Appetite Behind It Is Still Broken – Analyst The ETH 2.0 staking rate has reached 31.4% — an all-time high. In practical terms, 38.31 million ETH is now locked in staking contracts, the largest amount ever committed to the network’s validator infrastructure. That record coincides with a separate but related development: circulating Ethereum supply on Binance has fallen to its lowest level since 2020. The exchange that processes the largest share of global ETH trading has less of the asset available than at any point in the past five years. The combined picture is a supply structure that has been quietly and persistently tightening. Nearly one-third of Ethereum’s total supply is no longer available for immediate sale. It is committed to the network — earning yield, supporting consensus, and sitting outside the reach of anyone looking to sell quickly. What remains in the liquid market is a fraction of what existed when previous cycles were building momentum. Ethereum testing $2,300 in this environment is not the same test it would be with a full supply available. The denominator has changed — and that changes the math of what demand needs to do to move the price. The Least Ethereum Available for Sale Since 2016 — and Demand Has Not Returned Yet The report’s second finding extends the supply picture from concerning to historically significant. Ethereum’s exchange supply has now dropped to its lowest level since 2016 — not since last cycle, not since the 2020 DeFi summer, but since a period when Ethereum was a fraction of its current size and trading at prices measured in single digits. The amount of ETH sitting on exchanges and available for immediate sale has not been this scarce in nearly a decade. The market mechanics that are created are precise and directly consequential. When the available supply reaches historic lows, the relationship between demand and price changes fundamentally. In a liquid market with abundant exchange supply, large amounts of buying pressure are required to move the price meaningfully — sellers absorb the demand gradually and the price adjusts slowly. In a market this illiquid, even modest increases in buying inflow meet a sell side that cannot match the demand without sharp price adjustment. The structural shift behind both supply readings is the same. Investors are moving away from short-term trading and toward long-term holding and staking — a behavioral migration that simultaneously reduces selling pressure and concentrates the remaining liquid supply in fewer hands. The consequence is a market that looks calm at $2,300 but is structurally primed to respond disproportionately to any sustained increase in demand. Supply shocks do not announce themselves in advance. They become visible only after the price has already moved — and by then, the setup has already done its work. Related Reading: Ethereum Buyers Stepping In Right Now Are the Most Aggressive Since Early 2023: Is the Bottom In? Ethereum Tests Support as Momentum Fades Below Resistance Ethereum is consolidating near $2,280 after failing to sustain a push above the $2,400 resistance zone. The rejection from that level reinforces it as a key supply area, with sellers consistently stepping in on rallies. Since the February low near $1,800, ETH has established a sequence of higher lows, indicating a gradual recovery. However, the structure remains fragile as price compresses between rising short-term support and overhead resistance. The 50-day moving average is now acting as immediate support. Sitting just below the current price and helping maintain the short-term uptrend. Meanwhile, the 100-day moving average is flattening above, capping upside attempts. While the 200-day moving average continues trending downward, signaling that the broader trend has not yet fully reversed. Related Reading: XRP Spot Buyers Are Getting Stronger While Futures Traders Are Selling – Learn What That $700M Split Means Volume dynamics suggest declining participation. The February spike marked capitulation, but the subsequent recovery has occurred on lower volume, pointing to cautious accumulation rather than strong conviction. The latest pullback also lacks aggressive selling pressure, which keeps the structure intact but does not confirm strength. A decisive break above $2,400 would shift momentum toward continuation, potentially targeting $2,600. Failure to hold the 50-day moving average could trigger a retest of the $2,100–$2,000 support zone. Where demand previously emerged. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
Bitcoin and Ethereum have spent the past few weeks moving like assets caught between two powerful forces. On one side, institutional demand has returned through Spot ETFs, treasury purchases, and dip-buying from larger investors. On the other side, profit-taking and heavy derivatives positioning keep turning rallies into sudden pullbacks. ETF Demand Is Slowly Lifting Bitcoin And Ethereum The crypto market has not been moving in a clean straight line. Bitcoin has pushed close to the $80,000 level more than once in the past week, only to lose momentum around $79,000. Ethereum has been following these moves, but with its own ETF flow and positioning pressure. Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Wave Down To $40,000 Shows When The Bottom Will Begin The strongest reason Bitcoin and Ethereum have been rising is the return of institutional inflows. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have been on a strong inflow streak in April, with data indicating more than $2.2 billion in net inflows between April 14 and April 24. Spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in $823.7 million from April 20 to April 24, while Ethereum ETFs attracted about $155 million over the same week. That helps explain why Bitcoin was able to rebound strongly from its earlier March range in the mid-$60,000s and move back near $78,000 to $80,000. Bitcoin recently came close to $80,000, reaching around $79,475 over the weekend before reversing, showing that sellers are still active. A War That Crypto Cannot Ignore The single biggest driver of crypto volatility in 2026 has been a conflict thousands of miles from any blockchain. The US-Iran conflict has been the biggest factor in how the cryptocurrency market has been facing mounting pressure. Related Reading: Analyst Says Ethereum Just Confirmed A ‘Turtle Soup’, Here’s What It Means The sudden onset of military conflict in February delivered an immediate and severe shock that pushed cryptocurrencies to their lows. However, earlier in April, Bitcoin jumped to an 11-week high in light of easing US-Iran tensions and talks of reopening the Strait of Hormuz. As it stands, US President Donald Trump’s national security team is reviewing an Iranian peace plan to halt the war and open the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran has offered to end its chokehold on the strait if the US lifts its blockade and sanctions on the country. Bitcoin and Ethereum price fluctuations have largely tracked these ups and downs and worries over rising oil prices. An ongoing US naval blockade and Iran continuing to seize ships suggest, however, that a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is still far off. The third force behind the sharp swings is leverage, as crypto markets are heavily influenced by derivatives. For instance, the recent Bitcoin rally to $79,000 caught many traders off-guard, and over $200 million worth of short positions were liquidated. Buying pressure on the Bitcoin derivatives side has yet to simmer down, as on-chain data shows BTC net taker volume recently surged to around $145 million. Ethereum has also seen aggressive derivatives activity. Recent data showed ETH futures open interest jumping 26% to about $25.4 billion. Ethereum buyers are also at their most aggressive buying spree phase since early 2023. Featured image from Getty Images, chart from Tradingview.com
Ethereum is trading near $2,290 in 2026, almost identical to its 2021 levels, even after extreme volatility that saw a peak near $4,950 in 2025 and a crash to $880 in 2022. Despite flat price action, the network has expanded strongly with1.2M-1.3M daily transactions, rising staking participation above 30%, and billions locked in DeFi, showing …
Bitmine Immersion Technologies, the second-largest public crypto holding company, provided a detailed update on its Ethereum (ETH) strategy on Monday, along with broader figures covering its crypto portfolio, including total holdings and so-called “moonshots.” The company said its combined crypto-related positions now reach $13.3 billion, while the key focus for investors remains its Ethereum accumulation, which it says has hit a new high. Bitmine Targets 5% Of Ethereum Supply According to Bitmine’s disclosure, its ETH holdings have reached a record 5,078,386 tokens at $2,369 per ETH. Thomas Lee, the company’s Chairman, emphasized that the milestone was reached during the past week, noting that Bitmine “crossed 5 million this past week.” He framed it as an important step toward a longer-term objective: acquiring 5% of the Ethereum supply. In his remarks, Lee said the speed of accumulation has been “astonishing,” with Bitmine reaching the 5 million mark in roughly 10 months. Related Reading: ‘The Beat Goes On’ – Saylor Hints At Another Bitcoin Buying Spree Lee also pointed to research that supports the idea of Ethereum as a “store of value.” He cited recent reports, including a study by Etherealize, arguing that ETH could increasingly be held as collateral as digital assets become more involved in financial transactions. In his view, Ethereum’s recent performance since the Iran War began has helped demonstrate that role. Lee claimed ETH has outperformed the S&P 500 by 1,696 basis points since the war started, and he added that Ethereum remains the single best-performing asset in the world, aside from crude oil prices. He argued this dynamic reinforces the idea of ETH as a particularly resilient asset in “war-time,” portraying it as both meaningful and distinctive relative to other holdings. Beyond valuation and performance, Lee connected Ethereum’s momentum to two larger trends. He said Ethereum benefits from Wall Street tokenizing activity on the blockchain, and also from the rise of agentic artificial intelligence (AI) systems that, in his framing, increasingly require public and neutral blockchains. Highest Purchase Pace Since December On the trading pace itself, Lee said Bitmine has maintained an increased rate of ETH purchases over each of the past four weeks, describing this as evidence of an ongoing accumulation strategy even amid changing market conditions. He said that in the most recent week, the company bought 101,901 Ethereum, calling it the highest pace of buys since the week of December 15, 2025. Lee also linked the buying strategy to what he referred to as Bitmine’s base case, stating that ETH is in the final stages of a “mini-crypto winter.” Related Reading: Dogecoin Trap Shows A Major Crash, But How Low Will The Price Go? The company also detailed its staking position. As of April 26, 2026, Bitmine reported that its total staked ETH stands at 3,701,589 tokens, which it valued at $8.8 billion using the $2,369 per ETH price. In addition to that figure, Bitmine said its annualized staking revenues are now $264 million. At the time of writing, Ethereum was trading at $2,292. Despite improving market conditions, it retraced 3% on Monday after failing to surpass the $2,400 resistance level. Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com
Ethereum price started a fresh decline and traded below $2,350. ETH is now consolidating above $2,265 and might struggle to recover. Ethereum started a downside correction from the $2,400 zone. The price is trading below $2,350 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There is a bearish trend line forming with resistance at $2,310 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken). The pair could start a fresh increase if it stays above the $2,350 zone. Ethereum Price Trims Gains Ethereum price failed to remain stable above $2,380 and started a downside correction, like Bitcoin. ETH price dipped below the $2,365 and $2,350 levels. The price even spiked below $2,300. A low was formed at $2,264, and the price is now consolidating losses. There was a minor upward move above the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $2,404 swing high to the $2,264 low. Ethereum price is now trading below $2,300 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. If the bulls remain in action above $2,265, the price could attempt another increase. Immediate resistance is seen near the $2,310 level. There is also a bearish trend line forming with resistance at $2,310 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. The first key resistance is near the $2,335 level and the 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $2,404 swing high to the $2,264 low. The next major resistance is near the $2,350 level. A clear move above the $2,350 resistance might send the price toward the $2,400 resistance. An upside break above the $2,400 region might call for more gains in the coming days. In the stated case, Ether could rise toward the $2,500 resistance zone or even $2,550 in the near term. More Losses In ETH? If Ethereum fails to clear the $2,310 resistance, it could start a fresh decline. Initial support on the downside is near the $2,285 level. The first major support sits near the $2,265 zone. A clear move below the $2,265 support might push the price toward the $2,220 support. Any more losses might send the price toward the $2,200 region. The main support could be $2,120. Technical Indicators Hourly MACD – The MACD for ETH/USD is gaining momentum in the bearish zone. Hourly RSI – The RSI for ETH/USD is now below the 50 zone. Major Support Level – $2,265 Major Resistance Level – $2,350
Ethereum has clawed back above $2,300, with bulls pushing to reclaim a level that has defined the upper boundary of the recent consolidation range. The $2,400 target remains just out of reach — but a CryptoOnChain report has identified something in the order flow data that reframes the current price action as considerably more constructive than the chart alone suggests. Related Reading: XRP Spot Buyers Are Getting Stronger While Futures Traders Are Selling – Learn What That $700M Split Means The report examines the Taker Buy Sell Ratio — a measure of how aggressively buyers versus sellers are hitting the market — across both Binance and all major exchanges simultaneously. What it has found is a divergence that is difficult to dismiss. While Ethereum’s price has declined from approximately $4,700 in October to the current level around $2,300, the 30-day moving average of this ratio has been moving in the opposite direction. It has surged to its highest reading since late January 2023 — on both charts, across both venues, at the same time. That context matters. January 2023 was not a random data point. It sat near the bottom of the previous bear market, at a moment when aggressive buyers began absorbing supply at levels most participants had written off as too risky to touch. Ethereum is not at $1,000. But the buying behavior now appearing in the derivatives data has not been seen since that moment — and the price was a fraction of where it sits today when it last appeared. The Price Goes Down. The Buyers Say Otherwise The CryptoOnChain report names what the data is describing with precision. The divergence between a falling price and a rising Taker Buy Sell Ratio carries two messages — and both point in the same direction. The first is accumulation. The ratio moving above 1 and reaching multi-year highs means market buy orders are not just present — they are overpowering sell orders. At $2,300, aggressive buyers are not cautiously nibbling at a discount. They are stepping in with enough force to dominate the order flow on the largest derivatives exchange in the world and across all major venues simultaneously. Large participants and aggressive traders are treating the current price level as a zone worth building into, not one worth waiting out. The second message is seller exhaustion. When buying aggression reaches multi-year highs during a sustained price decline, it typically reflects a market approaching the point where available selling supply is running out. Sellers have been in control since October. The order flow is beginning to show the limits of that control. Together, the two signals describe a market that looks bearish on the surface and is quietly transforming beneath it. The trend in price has been downward for months. The trend in underlying demand has been moving in the opposite direction, and the gap between them has reached the kind of extreme that, historically, does not resolve in favor of the sellers. Related Reading: Chainlink Is Getting Cheaper And Whales Are Not Buying The Dip: Discount Or A Trap? Ethereum Stalls Below Resistance as Compression Builds Ethereum continues to trade in a tight range just below the $2,400 level, with price action reflecting a market that is stabilizing but not yet breaking out. The recovery from the February low near $1,800 remains intact, with ETH forming a sequence of higher lows that confirms short-term bullish structure. However, the advance is now encountering a well-defined resistance cluster. The $2,350–$2,400 zone has repeatedly rejected upside attempts, aligning closely with the downward-sloping 100-day moving average. This creates a technical ceiling where sellers continue to absorb demand. At the same time, the 50-day moving average is rising beneath the price near $2,200, acting as dynamic support and compressing the range. Related Reading: Retail Is Cashing Out On Ethereum, But The Selloff Is Being Absorbed. Discover Who Is Buying This type of price compression typically precedes expansion. The question is direction. Volume offers limited confirmation, as the strongest activity remains tied to the February selloff, while the recovery has developed on more moderate participation. That suggests demand is present but not yet aggressive. If Ethereum can reclaim $2,400 with sustained momentum, the next resistance sits near $2,800. A rejection from current levels would likely extend the consolidation, with downside risk toward the $2,100–$2,200 support zone where buyers have consistently stepped in. Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com