Ethereum Price Analysis: Scenarios for Next Price Movement

Ethereum (ETH) is trading above $1,700 despite a 1.2% drop. New scalability proposals like EIP-9698 aim to enhance transaction capacity significantly. Vitalik Buterin shared a Layer-Zero update potentially upgrading efficiency substantially. Technical analysis points to a bullish reversal with an optimistic target of $2,875 but risks loom if support levels are breached.

Ethereum (ETH) has managed to maintain a price above $1,700 even though there’s been a slight 1.2% drop over the last 24 hours. As of April 28, 2025, it trades around $1,780, remaining stable during a time that new scalability proposals are being discussed. This could pave the way for enhancements in throughput on this prominent smart contract platform.

One of the significant proposals emerging from the Ethereum Foundation is EIP-9698. This ambitious plan aims to increase the network’s gas limit a staggering one hundred-fold over four years—the current limit of 36 million gas should reach about 3.6 billion. The growth is envisioned to occur in two phases, the first being a tenfold increase over roughly two years and another similar increase to follow.

If executed as planned, the proposal could theoretically amplify Ethereum’s transaction capacity to over 2,000 transactions per second (TPS). This would indeed position Ethereum more favourably against other high-throughput rivals, especially Solana, which currently handles between 800 and 1,050 non-vote TPS.

On the technical front, Ethereum has shown some resilience against Bitcoin, having reclaimed its local range, sparking hopes of a market recovery. Currently hovering around $1,780, it peaked at $1,861 before slipping slightly. The daily RSI reading is at 53, edging down towards neutrality, hinting at a stronger momentum that may be waning. However, critical support levels exist, namely immediate support at $1,700, a significant level at $1,449, resistance at $1,861, and a key psychological target of $2,000.

Ethereum seems to be consolidating its position between $1,725 and $1,850, indicating that the bulls are trying to defend crucial levels. However, for a significant upwards shift, something substantial needs to trigger that movement.

In response to some criticisms, particularly from Cardano’s founder, Vitalik Buterin addressed concerns regarding Ethereum’s future. Hoskinson had commented that Layer-2 solutions might be draining ETH’s vitality, warning of a potential collapse within 15 years. In light of this, Buterin shared details of a notable Layer-Zero update that proposes a transition from the Ethereum Virtual Machine to a leaner zkVM system using RISC-V standards.

This update, as outlined, could enhance Ethereum’s network efficiency significantly—reportedly needing up to 832 times fewer computing cycles than current EVM processors. Benefits include a 95.7% reduction in proving cycles and a 30-fold increase in throughput via GPU acceleration. Technical analysis indicates that Ethereum has formed a falling wedge pattern, and with last week’s gains of 12%, there’s a suggestion of a bullish reversal that could target $2,875. However, if support around $1,569 crumbles, the bullish view might falter significantly, hinting at a bearish target of $1,385.