Ethereum (ETH) has risen 1.7% to over $1,600, breaking bearish trends and crossing important technical indicators. Vitalik Buterin’s proposal to adopt RISC-V architecture aims to enhance scalability significantly. Increased whale activity demonstrates investor confidence, though resistance levels and declining transaction fees raise questions about future growth. The market anticipates movements towards the critical $1,700 level, influenced by ongoing technical developments.
Ethereum (ETH) is currently priced above $1,600, demonstrating a 1.7% increase within the last 24 hours. The cryptocurrency has successfully moved away from a bearish trend line and now trades above the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average, indicating a short-term positive outlook for the digital asset. ETH’s latest rise initiated from the $1,550 range, breaking key resistance at $1,590.
Following a peak at $1,644, ETH remains above the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level, which supports its upward trajectory. Notably, resistance levels are seen at $1,640 initially, with critical resistance points at $1,650 and $1,680 thereafter. The accumulation of ETH by whale investors indicates market confidence, aligning with its recent price movements.
Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s co-founder, has introduced a significant proposal aimed at enhancing scalability by replacing the existing Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) with RISC-V architecture. This proposal anticipates up to a 100-fold efficiency improvement by optimising the execution layer, particularly through advanced zero-knowledge functionality. Such a radical transformation may address the network’s persistent scalability challenges and competitive block production hurdles.
Whale activity has intensified, previously seen in the significant withdrawal of 1,897 ETH from Bitget, amounting to about $3 million. This large-scale accumulation suggests heightened confidence in Ethereum’s potential, with the same entity withdrawing a total of 3,844 ETH since early April. Increased trading volume in response to these withdrawals indicates greater market interest.
However, a failure to breach the $1,650 resistance could signal a downside correction, with support observed at approximately $1,620. A further drop below $1,605 may push ETH to lower levels of $1,580 and potentially to $1,500. The bullish momentum is supported by technical indicators, including a favourable MACD reading.
Despite the optimistic price recovery, Ethereum’s overall network metrics present a mixed outlook, especially with declining transaction fees hitting a low not seen since 2020. This decline suggests a reduced number of transactions on the base layer as users transition to more efficient layer-2 scaling solutions, posing questions for Ethereum’s future revenue model. The market is vigilant about ETH’s progress towards the pivotal $1,700 mark, as Buterin’s revolutionary proposal aims to bolster its competitive edge against other high-throughput networks like Solana and Sui.
