Ethereum [ETH] may not be as strong as it seems right now. While the price might look momentarily steady, there’s more to this than what meets the eye.
Large players have continued to stay active, but will this pace hold without retail support?
Not enough demand for Ethereum
According to a recent report, Ethereum faces weaker demand from U.S investors, even with global activity. The Coinbase Premium Index, which compares ETH prices on Coinbase and Binance, was negative with a value of around -0.0149 at press time.
Put simply, this means Ethereum [ETH] might be trading cheaper on Coinbase, than on Binance. That means lower buying pressure or a hike in selling in the U.S.
Here, what’s interesting is that this gap has persisted even during a recovery. No matter how brief it may be. A move back towards neutral or positive levels, however, would prove improved sentiment and stronger support from U.S investors.
The whales are here, but retail is not
Things get clear when looking at order flow. While U.S demand has been weak, large players have been active in the market.
In fact, CryptoQuant data highlighted consistently elevated average order sizes. So, whale-sized trades have been dominating Ethereum’s spot activity.
What’s missing, however, is retail participation. There’s little indication of smaller order flows picking up alongside these larger trades. The market structure has been pretty one-sided.
Such setups may lack staying power.
Steady, but not quite powerful
On the daily chart, Ethereum [ETH] held on above the $2,100-zone. However, it looked shaky at best. Especially since while the RSI was at neutral levels, the MACD was flat. Put simply, its recent push has been losing strength.
Derivatives numbers appeared to be of a similar vein too. Open Interest fell lower from earlier highs – A sign that traders may be stepping back.
At the same time, Funding Rates suggested longs were still dominant… but not aggressively so.
Final Summary
- Ethereum doesn’t have much U.S demand.
- Whale activity has been dominant, but lack of retail support makes any upside fragile.
