Ethereum (ETH) continued a sideways movement on Wednesday as investors seemed to be waiting for an upward or downward price catalyst. Despite the price stagnancy, the ETH validator queue – possibly fueled by the DeFi restaking boom – rose sharply.
Read more: Ethereum declines as crypto market crash increases bearish sentiment
Ethereum’s price is yet to show signs of appreciation on Wednesday as the market is moving slowly. Here are key market movers for the number one altcoin:
Also read: Ethereum recovers from dip as Hong Kong ETH ETF approval sparks whale buying spree
Another whale who bought 96,638 ETH from Coinbase at $1,567 in September seemed to be taking profit as he deposited 5,000 ETH to Kraken on Tuesday, according to Lookonchain.
Ethereum has struggled to enter an upward trajectory on Wednesday as it still hovers around the $3,000 support. It has continued a sideways downward-like movement as there’s no catalyst to cause a significant price shift yet.
While ETH continues filling the liquidity void formed on Saturday, a short-term Bitcoin halving effect could cause it to move upward briefly to cover the previous liquidity void of April 12. However, ETH faces a key resistance of $3,406 formed on April 7.
ETH/USDT 1-hour chart
As stated previously, ETH may continue trading within the range of $2,852 and $3,301 in the next few days, except if major factors prevail. These factors include the Iran-Israel conflict, Bitcoin dominance, and the Securities & Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision on an ETH approval.
Read more: Ethereum price stagnates as EIP-3074 brings smart contract functionalities to wallets
Another factor to note is that ETH long liquidations have slowed down compared to the past two days. Long liquidations in the past 24 hours are at $29.3 million. This indicates that bear traders may be running out of steam; hence, a further price decline below the range given above isn’t expected.
ETH is trading at $2,989 at the time of writing.
Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, a virtual currency designed to serve as money. This form of payment cannot be controlled by any one person, group, or entity, which eliminates the need for third-party participation during financial transactions.
Altcoins are any cryptocurrency apart from Bitcoin, but some also regard Ethereum as a non-altcoin because it is from these two cryptocurrencies that forking happens. If this is true, then Litecoin is the first altcoin, forked from the Bitcoin protocol and, therefore, an “improved” version of it.
Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to have a stable price, with their value backed by a reserve of the asset it represents. To achieve this, the value of any one stablecoin is pegged to a commodity or financial instrument, such as the US Dollar (USD), with its supply regulated by an algorithm or demand. The main goal of stablecoins is to provide an on/off-ramp for investors willing to trade and invest in cryptocurrencies. Stablecoins also allow investors to store value since cryptocurrencies, in general, are subject to volatility.
Bitcoin dominance is the ratio of Bitcoin’s market capitalization to the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies combined. It provides a clear picture of Bitcoin’s interest among investors. A high BTC dominance typically happens before and during a bull run, in which investors resort to investing in relatively stable and high market capitalization cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. A drop in BTC dominance usually means that investors are moving their capital and/or profits to altcoins in a quest for higher returns, which usually triggers an explosion of altcoin rallies.