Ethereum Ether fell sharply from Thursday to Friday, plunging more than 10% from peak to trough in an accelerated large-scale crypto sell-off with bitcoin falling below the $100,000 level.
The second-largest cryptocurrency fell from $3,565 earlier Thursday to $3,060 Friday morning, erasing all of last week’s rebound. It recently stabilized just below $3,200, still down around 8% over the past 24 hours.
The move coincided with a sell-off in US markets, with stocks and bonds falling in tandem with cryptos. The US government shutdown, which has just ended, weighed on liquidity conditions. Pressure is also being increased by the growing likelihood that the Federal Reserve will leave rates unchanged at the December meeting.
Since the Federal Reserve’s meeting in late October, when Chairman Jerome Powell cast a chill over the almost universally expected rate cuts in December, U.S.-listed spot ether ETFs have seen net outflows of $1.4 billion, according to data from Farside Investors. Thursday’s outflow of nearly $260 million was the largest single-day loss in a month.
In addition to this, long-term holders are also heading towards the exit door. Blockchain data from Glassnode showed that long-term holders of 3 to 10 years accelerated their sales to around 45,000 ETH (around $140 million at current prices) per day over a 90-day moving average, the highest distribution pace since February 2021.
Blockchain data also suggests deteriorating fundamentals. Monthly active addresses on the network fell to 8.2 million, from more than 9 million in September, while transaction fees over the past month collapsed 42% to just $27 million, according to Token Terminal data.
Key technical levels to watch
ETH has broken a critical support level at $3,325, establishing a clear downtrend with consecutive lower highs, suggests CoinDesk Research’s technical analysis model.
- Support/Resistance: Primary support lies at $3,080 and secondary levels at $3,050 and $2,880. Key resistance forms at $3,330 (former support), $3,500 (main pivot), and $3,650 (descending channel highs).
- Volume Analysis: Sales peaked at 641,103 during the $3,325 split, 71% above 24-hour norms. Subsequent volume fell to 80% of the 7-day averages, indicating potential exhaustion.
- Chart Patterns: ETH broke its April ascending channel, creating a bearish pattern with lower highs. The consolidation range of $3,077 to $3,146 suggests a possible base formation.
- Targets and Risk/Reward: Breaking $3,050 support exposes a downside of $2,880, while a recovery to $3,563 is needed for bullish momentum. A decisive push above $3,500 targets $3,650-3,800.
Disclaimer: Portions of this article were generated with the help of AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy and compliance with our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI policy.
