Ethereum price has been under intense pressure for the past few days ahead of the US Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting next week. Ethereum, the largest altcoin by market cap, has slipped by nearly 6% over the past week but remains up by 57.80% in the year to date. ETH’s total market cap has crashed by more than 1% in the past 24 hours to $226 billion, while the total volume of the token traded over the same period climbed by 16%.
Fundamentals
Ethereum price has been trading sideways for the past few days as investors weigh the outlook for interest rates ahead of the Fed’s meeting next week. The cryptocurrency market led by Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap, has been underperforming for the past few days, weakening the crypto sentiment.
The global crypto market cap has decreased to $1.2 trillion over the past few days, while the total crypto market volume increased by nearly 7% over the past day. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index has declined over the past few days from a Greed level of 64 to a neutral level of 55, hinting at a decline in confidence by investors.
Over the past few weeks, the crypto market sentiment has been buoyed by the filings for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by Wall Street giants, including BlackRock, Charles Schwab, and Fidelity, among others. Ripple Labs’ recent win against the US Securities and Exchange Commission has also built on the crypto sentiment. However, the confidence sparked by these catalysts has been short-lived, failing to sustain the crypto market rally.
Despite XRP’s landmark court win, regulatory uncertainties have continued to weigh on the crypto prices. Uncertainty around the Fed’s monetary policy outlook has also continued to hang on the crypto market. Investors will be eyeing the central bank’s two-day policy meeting next week, looking for hints about what could happen to interest rates later in the year. Markets are pricing a 99.8% chance of the central bank hiking its interest rate by a 25-basis point next week.
Ethereum Price Technical Analysis
Ethereum price has failed to retest its important level of $2,000 after briefly making out with the level last week. The digital currency remains slightly above the 50-day and 200-day exponential moving averages as seen on the daily chart. Its Relative Strength Index (RSI) has inched below the neutral zone, pointing to increased selling pressure.
Consequently, the Ethereum price is likely to continue moving lower below the bullish support at $1,920 as sellers target the next support at $1,845. A move below this level will give bears control, pushing the price to the next support at the 200-day EMA at $1,769.05. Conversely, a move above the $1,920 level might push the price higher to the critical level of $2,000.
