As cryptocurrency investors watched in horror, Ethereum plummeted to a devastating low of $1,835 this week—its worst performance since mid-March. The second-largest cryptocurrency has shed a staggering 55% from its 2024 high, crashing through the psychological $2,000 support level like it wasn’t even there. Ouch.
Trading around $1,905 currently, ETH has erased over 21% of its value in March alone. Not exactly the spring revival holders were hoping for. The sell-off triggered a cascade of liquidations, with $175 million worth of crypto positions wiped out in just 24 hours. Ethereum accounts for $30 million of that bloodbath.
Why the dramatic nosedive? For starters, spot Ethereum ETFs have been hemorrhaging money. Investors are fleeing faster than teenagers from a parent-chaperoned dance.
Competition from layer-1 and layer-2 networks isn’t helping either, with network activity shifting noticeably to Solana and various L2s throughout 2024. Networks like Base and Arbitrum offer significantly higher transaction speeds and reduced costs compared to Ethereum’s mainnet.
Technical indicators paint a grim picture. A triple-top pattern formed this year—never a good sign. The bearish flag chart pattern, combined with downward-pointing RSI and MACD indicators, suggests more pain ahead. The negative RSI readings fall well below the 50 threshold that typically indicates a bullish environment in cryptocurrency markets.
Even worse? The dreaded death cross has appeared, with the 50-week and 200-week EMAs crossing paths.
Ethereum is getting absolutely crushed compared to Bitcoin. The ETH/BTC ratio hit a dismal 0.02210, representing a 74% decline since Ethereum switched to proof-of-stake. Standard Chartered apparently got the memo, slashing their ETH price prediction by 60%.
Looking ahead, analysts warn of a possible retest of the $1,750 multi-year low. The bear pennant pattern suggests another 15% downside lurking in the shadows.
The Pectra mainnet upgrade scheduled for April 30 might offer some hope, but Trump’s tariff implementation coming in April 2025 looms as another potential shock. The September 2022 Merge that transitioned Ethereum from proof of work to proof of stake hasn’t delivered the expected price performance many investors had anticipated.
For now, panic selling continues. Long-term holders are closing positions. The future? Not looking particularly bright through 2025.
