The price of Ethereum's native token, Ether (ETH), shows a growing conflict among traders about the market direction for March. This uncertainty has resulted in ETH price consolidating inside a narrow sideways range between $1,600 and $1,700 since Feb. 15.
The uncertainty stems from Ethereum's long-awaited Shanghai upgrade going live some time in March.
Several analysts predict Shanghai's token unlock feature, which will enable stakers to withdraw their vested tokens from Ethereum's proof-of-stake smart contract, will trigger a short-term selloff event.
The Ethereum PoS smart contract has attracted more than 17.4 million ETH (~$28.35 billion at the current exchange rate) since its introduction in December 2020, per Etherscan.
In addition, Ether is finding it difficult to break above the technical resistance range. The Ethereum token has attempted to flip the $1,650-1,700 area to support multiple times since August 2022, as shown by the red bar in the chart below.
Interestingly, each failed breakout attempt has resulted in a strong pullback toward a common support line — a multi-month ascending trendline (black).
Therefore, if history is any indication, ETH's next correction could potentially land its price near $1,250, down 25% from the current levels. Conversely, a break above $1,650-1,700 positions ETH for the $1,925-2,000 range (purple) as its next upside target.
From an on-chain perspective, as extended Ether price crash appears less likely.
Notably, there's been a massive drop in ETH supplies on exchanges since September — from around 30% to 11%. Theoretically, this reduces the immediate sell pressure as capital moves to the sidelines.
"The trend in crypto, particularly since September, has been quickly moving
Read more on cointelegraph.com