ETH Looks for Weekend Relief to Return to $1,800 and Retarget $1,900

Key Insights:

• On Friday, ethereum (ETH) fell by 3.63% to end the day at $1,752.
• Binance-related news and Deutsche Bank woes weighed on investor sentiment and ETH staking inflows.
• However, the technical indicators remained bullish, leaving $2,000 in view.

Ethereum (ETH) fell by 3.63% on Friday. Partially reversing a 4.54% rally from Thursday, ETH ended the day at $1,752. Despite the bearish session, ETH avoided sub-$1,700 for the seventh consecutive session.

A mixed start to the day saw ETH rise to an early high of $1,823. Falling short of the First Major Resistance Level (R1) at $1,875, ETH fell to a late afternoon low of $1,728. ETH briefly fell through the First Major Support Level (S1) at $1,747 before wrapping up the day at $1,752.

Deutsche Bank and Binance Send ETH into Negative Territory

Investor jitters over a banking sector crisis and liquidity crunch continued to weigh on riskier assets.

Deutsche Bank (DB) became the focal point as fears of a deepening crisis weighed on the banking sector. DB tumbled by 8.53% on Friday, dragging financial stocks, the European boerses, and the crypto market into negative territory.

However, the NASDAQ Composite Index recovered late in the session to end the day up 0.31%. The late recovery delivered much-needed support to ETH, which recovered from session lows.

Crypto market-related news left ETH and the broader market in the red. News of Binance suspending deposits and withdrawals because of a technical hitch weighed heavily. Reports of Binance employees assisting users to bypass Binance KYC controls contributed to the Friday pullback.

ETH staking inflows eased further back on Friday but continued to avoid sub-10,000. According to CryptoQuant, staking inflows declined from 15,232 ETH on Thursday to 12,736 ETH on Friday. Despite the decline, staking inflows remained elevated, supporting the current upward trend in the run-up to the Shapella hard fork.

The continued upward trend suggests a bullish response to the Shapella upgrade, with the total ETH value staked also rising.

However, investors should be aware of a downward trend, which could signal a jump in unstaking requests upon completion of the Shapella upgrade.

The Day Ahead

After the investor sensitivity to banking sector-related news from Europe, further updates from lawmakers and regulators would move the dial.

However, investors should also monitor the crypto news wires for regulatory activity and Binance and Coinbase (COIN)-related news.

Court rulings and commentary on the ongoing SEC v Ripple case would also need consideration.

Ethereum (ETH) Price Action

At the time of writing, ETH was up 0.22% to $1,753. A range-bound start to the day saw ETH fall to an early low of $1,749 before rising to a high of $1,761.

Technical Indicators

ETH needs to move through the $1,768 pivot to target the First Major Resistance Level (R1) at $1,807 and the Friday high of $1,823. A return to $1,800 would signal a breakout session. However, banking sector-related news and the crypto news wires should be ETH-friendly to support a breakout.

In the event of an extended rally, the bulls would likely test the Second Major Resistance Level (R2) at $1,863 and resistance at $1,900. The Third Major Resistance Level (R3) sits at $1,958.

Failure to move through the pivot would leave the First Major Support Level (S1) at $1,712 in play. However, barring an event-fueled crypto market sell-off, ETH should avoid sub-$1,700 and the Second Major Support Level (S2) at $1,673. The Third Major Support Level (S3) sits at $1,578.

Looking at the EMAs and the 4-hourly candlestick chart (below), it was a mixed signal. Ethereum sat below the 50-day EMA, currently at $1,756. The 50-day EMA narrowed to the 100-day EMA, while the 100-day EMA widened from the 200-day EMA, delivering mixed signals.

A move through the 50-day EMA ($1,756) would support a breakout from R1 ($1,807) to target R2 ($1,863) and $1,900. However, failure to move through the 50-day EMA ($1,756) would give the bears a run at S1 ($1,712) and the 100-day EMA ($1,711). A move through the 50-day EMA would send a bullish signal.