The cryptocurrency market opened the new weekly candle bearish, as Bitcoin, Ether, and XRP tested key support levels.

Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, briefly dropped below the $1,900 level after losing 3% of its value on Sunday. 

The technical indicators remain extremely bearish, suggesting that Ether could be on track to retest the $1,500 support level over the coming days or weeks. 

Ether lost more than 3% of its value in the last 24 hours and briefly dropped to the $1,850 level amid a broader de-risking sentiment led by nervousness surrounding tariffs.

This dip meant that ETH broke the lower trendline of its prevailing bear pennant pattern.

The rising volume indicates that traders are confident that ETH’s price will break below another crucial support level in the near term. 

By breaking the latest psychological level, Ether’s price could continue its downward trend over the next few days or weeks, with the bears targeting $1,475, close to the psychological support level of $1,500, by the end of February or early March.

To ensure this doesn’t play out, the bulls would need to reclaim the pennant’s lower trendline as support before pushing the price above the 20-day exponential moving average at $2,085. Pushing the price above the 20-day EMA will invalidate the bearish outlook for Ether.

A key factor that could affect Ether’s price in the near term is the selling pressure from Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. 

On Jan. 30, Buterin announced that he would withdraw and sell 16,384 ETH via his Kanro entity.

The money would fund ecosystem work, open-source software, and other long-term initiatives during an Ethereum Foundation “mild austerity” phase.

Arkham Intelligence revealed that since the start of the month, roughly 9,000 ETH have been sold in batches.

The on-chain tracker added that the selling pressure has picked up again over the past 48 hours after a 3,500 ETH withdrawal from Aave.

Ether has already lost 19% of its value so far this month, aligning with Buterin’s ETH distribution.

The bearish trend could persist if Buterin liquidates the remaining ~7,350 ETH.

In the crypto market, selloffs by founders usually amplify bearish sentiment among traders.

While Buterin has not lost confidence in Ethereum, his recent activity could spark worry among some investors. 

Although the broader outlook is bearish, Ether could experience a bounce in the near term.

The technical indicators could improve as Ether has held a strong support level.

The RSI of 46 on the 4-hour chart is below the neutral zone. However, it is pointing up, indicating a fading bearish momentum. 

The MACD lines remain within the negative territory, indicating a strong selling pressure in the market.

If the support level holds, ETH could rally towards the $2,039 resistance level over the next few hours or days.

However, if the correction continues, ETH could retest the February 6 low of $1,740, with further support levels below the $1,500 psychological level.

The post ETH eyes further dip as Buterin looks to sell more holdings appeared first on Invezz

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