The cryptocurrency market is tough, and Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency, is no exception. Despite its dominant position, the token has faced significant headwinds in recent weeks, and its price shows no signs of a sustained recovery.

Key indicators point to continued pessimism

According to According to cryptocurrency analyst Ali Martinez, some of the largest Ethereum whales, holding over 10,000 ETH, have been steadily selling their tokens over the past month, and there is no sign of the pace changing.

This mass exodus of vast investors has contributed to ETH’s price falling 26% over the past 30 days, limiting its year-to-date gains to just 55% – making it one of the underperforming tokens during this period.

This sales pressure from these whales Ethereum has been a key factor in the token’s ongoing range-bottom consolidation it has experienced over the past seven months.

This cynical sentiment around ETH is further reinforced by the TD sequential indicator, which presented sell signal on the cryptocurrency’s hourly chart, which could intensify the current downtrend.

Looking to the future, Martinez has Identified key support levels that could come into play if Ethereum price continues to decline. According to Martinez, a key support zone to watch is between $2,300 and $2,380, where 1.62 million addresses have purchased over 50 million ETH.

Maintaining this level will be crucial for bulls to prevent another keen correction. to break downas was the case earlier this month when the price returned to $2,100 – a level not seen since February.

Could the price of Ethereum enhance?

While these adverse factors paint a bleak picture for the second-largest cryptocurrency on the market, market researcher Leon Waidmann says there has been a significant development that could herald a potential bullish turn for Ethereum.

As the researcher explained in a recent study social media post on X (formerly Twitter) that for the first time, ETH balances on cryptocurrency exchanges have fallen below 10%. This is a significant milestone, as the amount of Ethereum held on exchanges is now lower than Bitcoin (BTC). Waidnmann said:

The fact that there is significantly less ETH than BTC on exchanges is a very encouraging sign. It suggests that Ethereum investors are increasingly withdrawing their tokens from trading platforms, potentially indicating a shift away from short-term speculation towards long-term hodging.

Ultimately, it is not known what the next movement of the ETH price will look like, whether the bulls or bears will gain the advantage, who will decide on the next short-term movement of the token and break the current consolidation phase.

At the time of writing, ETH was priced at $2,580.

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com