Last week, ETH had its strongest performance since December 2020, but with a slowdown at $2500, bullish Ethereum price forecasts are in question. On the back of a US-China trade agreement and the Pectra hard fork launch, the market headwinds that have left the leading altcoin stagnant are clearing. The surge concluded a month-long consolidation phase, range-bound between $1450 and $1900. Clear of this hurdle, ETH has grounds for the “best crypto to buy” conversation. Why This Rally Differs From Other Coins Unlike many crypto rallies motivated by too high leverage and speculation, Ethereum’s recent price motion is mostly driven by actual spot market demand. Last week saw Ethereum’s estimated leverage ratio (ELR) decline sharply from 0.76 to 0.69, according to CryptoQuant data . This downtrend suggests derivative traders are using less leverage. Ethereum Estimated Leverage Ratio (ELR) downtrend. Source: CryptoQuant. Along with significant trade outflows—roughly 323,700 ETH left exchanges in only the past four days—and staking rising by more than 180,000 ETH in the previous week alone. These measures strongly imply that, rather than short-term speculative trading, investors are using longer-term holding techniques. Ethereum Price Analysis: Can the Uptrend Continue? The slowdown aligns with bearish technical signals. The daily RSI has breached overbought territory at 80, a clear sign of buyer exhaustion. What goes up must come down—a small correction seems like the natural next step to rebalance the scales. Still, a symmetrical triangle pattern forming since 2021 is back in play after a temporary false breakdown. This recovery move is backed by strong momentum indicators. ETH / USDT 1-week chart, symmetrical triangle pattern. Source: TradingView / Binance. The RSI has broken into bullish territory above this signal line after struggling in the 40s—an early indicator that selling pressure has given way to bullish dominance. More importantly, the MACD has flipped bullish for the first time since the post-inauguration rally. It has crossed above the signal line in a bullish golden cross—a formation which suggests a longer-term trend shift on such a high time frame. The 200SMA has also returned as strong support, signaling a potential bottom for the correction and adding weight to the idea of a forming long-term uptrend. If buying pressure returns, Ethereum could target a breakout from this triangle, with the next key target being the $2,970 resistance—an immediate 17% gain. A further advance to retest the upper resistance would require a 50% surge to around $3,750. Fundamental factors like the Pectra upgrade and improving macro conditions further bolster a cautiously optimistic long-term outlook for Ethereum. This L-2 Runner-Up Could Be Next to Surge, With Some Help Those who jumped to tried-and-tested Ethereum over alternative Layer-1s may be forced to reconsider as the Solana ecosystem finally addresses its biggest limitation: scalability. The narrative has shifted with the arrival of Solaxy ($SOLX) , Solana’s first-ever Layer-2 scaling solution. The runner-up has long lacked this capability, limiting its DeFi and cross-chain use case—until now. By processing transactions off-chain and finalizing them on Solana, Solaxy significantly reduces congestion and lowers transaction costs, while offering seamless interoperability across both blockchains. With over $35 million in its ongoing presale , investors are already rallying behind the project. When demand for Solana increases, it could be the one to reap the fresh ecosystem liquidity. You can keep up with Solaxy on X and Telegram , or join the presale on the Solaxy website . The post Ethereum Price Forecast: Can the ETH Price Break Above $2,500 Critical Support or is A Crash Imminent? appeared first on Cryptonews .
