Ethereum price is struggling to hold above $1,200 after hitting an intraday high of $1,203.21 on Monday. Ethereum, the second-largest altcoin by market capitalization has plunged by 1.41% in the past week and more than 7% in the past month. The total volume of ETH traded in the last 24 hours has crashed by more than 13%.

ETH Outlook

Ethereum price has struggled for most of 2022 despite the implementation of the network’s long-awaited Merge. Even so, Ethereum’s fundamentals seem better than its current market value. The network’s much-anticipated Merge went live in 2022 as it transitioned from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism.

The Merge cut down the network’s energy consumption by 98%, with validators replacing minors. Ethereum is currently the largest proof-of-stake blockchain after the Merge and has more than 491,000 validators securing the network.

Ethereum is on track to unlock staked ETH tokens after the network’s Shanghai hard fork in March 2023. According to Ethereum developers, the upgrade includes an improvement proposal that allows users to unlock their ETH. The upgrade is likely to stir selling pressure for the digital asset.

While its fundamentals have impressed investors in the past, Ethereum lost over 55% in value in the previous year. Ethereum could face a pike in liquidity in the first quarter of the new year as the Federal Reserve maintains its hawkish tone.

Ethereum Price Forecast

Ethereum price has been under pressure for the past few days as macroeconomic factors weigh on its price. The asset has been stubbornly trading above the $1,200 level for the past week. It is moving below the 25-day and 50-day moving averages. Its Relative Strength Index (RSI) is below the neutral level at 45.

As such, the Ethereum price is likely to be bearish in the short term as sellers target the crucial support level at $1,000. However, a move past the major resistance at $1,220 will invalidate the bearish thesis.