Ethereum price failed to break the resistance at $1,650 on Monday even as the crypto fear & greed index shifted to the greed end of the spectrum. Notably, jitters steming from the highly anticipated Fed interest rate decision continue to influence the market sentiment.
Fundamentals
On Monday, the crypto fear & greed index rose to its highest level since November 2021 when ethereum price hit its all-time high. After being in the fear end of the spectrum for months now, it hit a greed level of 61. This signalled increased confidence among investors; an aspect that pushed ethereum price closer to $1,650.
Interestingly, the aforementioned measure of market volatility and momentum eased to a neutral level of 51 on Tuesday. The pullback is largely due to jitters surrounding the Fed interest rate decision set for release on Wednesday.
Indeed, this economic event will likely be a major catalyst in the crypto sector and broader class of risk assets. More particularly, a hawkish Fed will likely have the bulls in the ethereum market defending the support at the psychologically crucial zone of $1,500.
Ethereum price prediction
ETH/USD has reversed some of the losses recorded on Monday when it dropped from an intraday high of 1,649.95. As at the time of writing, it was at 1,569.50; up by 0.2%. Even so, it remains range-bound as has been the case for about two weeks now.
The range-bound trading comes after the steady rallying that shaped the cryptocurrency market in the initial two weeks of 2023. Indeed, a look at the ethereum price daily chart shows that the altcoin continues to trade above the 25 and 50-day EMAs. This is a sign that investors remain hopeful over the recovery of cryptos following the plunge in 2022.
In the short term, the range between 1,650 and 1,500 will be worth watching. It will be interesting to see if the expected easing of Fed’s interest rate hikes will attract enough buyers to break the resistance at 1,650. If that happens, the bulls will have an opportunity to rally to its next target at 1,720. On the flip side, a hawkish Fed may yield a pullback to 1,415.65.
