Ethereum price has struggled to recover from a local low established last week as whales continued to offload their holdings. Now, a multi-month symmetrical triangle suggests there could be more pain ahead.
According to data from crypto.news, Ethereum (ETH) price has dropped 2.5% over the past 7 days and 5% from this month’s high of $3,292. Trading at $3,115 at press time, the largest altcoin by market cap is down as much as 37% from its all-time high reached in August last year.
Ethereum price has been under pressure this month due to whale selling. Data from Santiment shows that the number of wallets holding between 10,000 and 1 million ETH has declined steadily since mid-December.
Large-scale offloading of tokens by such investors often injects panic into retail holders, which in turn leads to further selling and loss of confidence.
The outflows from spot Ethereum ETFs have not helped either. Data from SoSoValue shows that U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs have shed over $345 million over the past four trading sessions. Weak demand from institutional investors has likely kept retail investor appetite in check as they wait for more clarity before re-entering the market.
On-chain stats also point to weakness in Ethereum’s fundamentals that could be weighing on its price. DeFiLlama data shows that the total value locked across DeFi protocols on the Ethereum blockchain has dropped from a September high of $257 billion to $175 billion.
Declining TVL typically signals a slowdown in network usage and capital inflows, and as such, it could reflect reduced investor confidence across the broader Ethereum ecosystem.
Derivative traders are also showing reduced interest. Data from CoinGlass shows that Ethereum futures open interest has dropped since peaking at $70 billion in August to $39 billion at press time, highlighting a sharp decline in speculative positioning.
Since August, Ethereum price has fallen by over 36%.
On the daily chart, Ethereum price has been forming a symmetrical triangle pattern since early November last year. A drop below the lower trendline of the pattern is usually a signal of bearish continuation, at least in the short term.
The charts also appear to be forming a large-scale inverse cup and handle pattern. The neckline of this pattern was at $2,619 as shown on the chart above.
As such, a drop below the $3,000 psychological support could open up a path for more downside, specifically towards the Nov. 21 low at $2,619, which also aligns with the neckline of the cup and handle pattern. Traders are likely to watch this area as a key support level.
A decisive break below that level would likely intensify selling pressure, potentially driving Ethereum down to $2,121.
On the contrary, if Ethereum price rebounds above the $3,269 resistance, which aligns with the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement level, it could invalidate the bearish setup and encourage a move toward higher targets.
