Ethereum's price has been on an absolute tear, ripping over 12.73% since the year kicked off. Institutional cash is pouring in, charts are looking sharper than a fresh razor, and the altcoin is sniffing key resistance levels. The big question remains: Does ETH smash through the ceiling or faceplant back down to the floor?
James Wynn, a crypto whale with a reputation for making waves, recently closed all his Ethereum and PEPE longs and yanked funds from Hyperliquid. This move sent a shockwave of mixed signals across Crypto Twitter. The degen crowd is now debating if this is a red flag for a looming pullback or just the whale booking some well-earned profit. Given Wynn's history of massive, sometimes disastrous trades, some are wondering if it's time to copy his homework or keep riding the bullish rocket.
On the flip side, the Taker Buy Dominance ratio has been steadily climbing since early 2026. This metric shows buyers are consistently steamrolling sellers, a classic sign of strong bullish demand that refuses to be ignored. The sustained buying pressure suggests the market is more focused on potential moon shots than any short-term dips that might scare off the weak hands.
At the time of writing, Ethereum is holding steady at $3,333 after breaking $3,300. The next major hurdle is $3,450. A successful breakout here could open the floodgates to a rally toward $4,000. The MACD is looking strong enough to bench press a small car, though the RSI at 63.19 signals some caution. For the bullish trend to hold, the price needs to stay above the $3,200–$3,400 range. If $3,450 holds as resistance, a pullback to lower support levels becomes a real possibility. Traders are now glued to their screens, waiting for a definitive breakout or reversal.
Meanwhile, the market is cooling off after hitting weekly highs, with Ethereum down 3% from its peak of $3.4k. However, it's still up 7% from the weekly open, so the broader structure remains intact. This pullback feels more like a healthy reset than a sign of weakness, giving the market a chance to catch its breath before the next leg up.
But there's tension brewing in the shadows. Nearly $3 billion has been added to Ethereum's Open Interest (OI) this week, and Binance's ETH/USDT perpetual contract has shown an average 60% long skew. This creates a tug-of-war between technical strength and speculative bets that could go either way. With the next FOMC meeting looming like a storm cloud, the question is whether ETH's 3% dip is just a healthy correction or the start of a larger, more painful unwind.
Despite the macro risks, Ethereum's network fundamentals are showing serious strength that can't be ignored. According to Glassnode, activity retention for new users is spiking, with new wallets hitting an all-time high of 393k. More impressively, Ethereum's daily transactions just set a record, hitting 2.8 million on January 15th—a 55% jump from just a week prior and more than double typical activity. This surge in transactions and new wallets indicates fresh capital and strong confidence in the network, providing a solid foundation for the price even amid market FUD.
