ETH, which had broken out to a new high in the previous week, came under pressure this morning. Staking statistics suggest that $2,000 is still out of reach for the cryptocurrency.
Ethereum (ETH) ended the week on a strong note, gaining 1.23% on Sunday to close at $1,899. This reversed a 0.95% loss from Saturday, and brought ETH’s weekly gains to 10.35%.
Ethereum (ETH) started the day on a mixed note, falling to a low of $1,871 in the first hour. However, the cryptocurrency was able to avoid falling below the first major support level (S1) of $1,859. ETH then rallied to a high of $1,930 in the mid-morning, breaking through the first major resistance level (R1) of $1,900. ETH briefly touched the second major resistance level (R2) of $1,924, but ultimately fell back to below $1,900.
Justin Sun has decided to unstake $30 million worth of ETH, making waves in an otherwise uneventful Sunday. As there were no significant updates or discussions regarding the Ethereum network, attention shifted towards staking statistics and discussions.
During the weekend, reports emerged about Justin Sun, the founder of Tron (TRX), unstaking a substantial amount of $29.7 million worth of ETH from the Lido (LDO) Finance Liquid Staking platform. It is said that Sun transferred these tokens to Huobi.
In February, Justin Sun engaged in staking activities by depositing 150,100 ETH on the Lido platform. This move resulted in staking inflows reaching 198,560 ETH on February 25. In response to this news, ETH experienced a 2.94% increase on Sunday, February 26.
However, staking statistics indicated a bearish sentiment. According to CryptoQuant, staking inflows rose from 34,880 ETH on Saturday to 44,352 ETH on Sunday. Despite this upward trend, the inflows remained significantly lower than the threshold of 100,000 ETH.
The overall value of staked assets witnessed a moderate increase, although it faced some hindrance due to a staking deficit.
During the overnight period, the withdrawal pattern indicated a bearish trend, with higher-than-usual levels of principal withdrawals. However, the projections for the morning session suggested a more optimistic outlook, indicating a bullish sentiment. These projections anticipate a return to normal levels of principal withdrawals.
As of Saturday, there was a deficit of 6,760 ETH in the net staking balance, marking a 36.90% increase within 24 hours. This deficit amounted to approximately $12.75 million, primarily driven by withdrawals of 6,760 ETH, while no deposits were recorded.
According to TokenUnlocks, the total value of pending withdrawals reached 37,040 ETH, approximately valued at $69.49 million. It’s worth mentioning that the staking APR remained unchanged at 5.86% over the same 24-hour period. The continued downward trend in staking APR is perceived as negative for the ETH price.
Technical Indicators for ETH Analysis
Analyzing the EMAs (Exponential Moving Averages) and observing the 4-hourly candlestick chart, there were positive indicators suggesting a bullish market sentiment. Ethereum remained positioned above the 50-day EMA, which currently stands at $1,844. Furthermore, the 50-day EMA continued to distance itself from the 200-day EMA, while the 100-day EMA intersected with the 200-day EMA, indicating bullish signals.
Maintaining a position above the 50-day EMA ($1,844) would reinforce the possibility of a breakout above the R1 level ($1,929) with subsequent targets at R2 ($1,959) and potentially $2,000. Conversely, if Ethereum’s price were to drop below the S1 level ($1,870), it would bring the 50-day EMA ($1,844) and S2 ($1,841) into focus. A decline below the 50-day EMA would trigger bearish signals.
