Ethereum seems to be stabilizing after a sharp decline. ETH is now trading near 2,950 USD after a drop of about 15.6% from January's highs but then bounced at an important support. Therefore, Ethereum still looks weak on the surface (11% down in the last week). However, several signals in the background suggest that the situation may change.
The negative trend seems to have come to an end. Large players are buying more ETH, and network usage has quickly recovered. Together, these signals make many wonder: is Ethereum preparing for a stronger rise, or is this just a short recovery?
A decline occurs when the volume differs and large players enter.
Ethereum's recent weakness did not come from nowhere. Between January 6 and 14, ETH showed a negative RSI divergence on the daily chart. The price rose to a new peak. However, the RSI, which shows the strength of the trend, showed a lower peak. This often indicates that the trend is about to end.
The signal was accurate. Ethereum fell about 15.6% and dropped to the support zone at 2,860 USD before the price stabilized.
What happened at the support is important.
When the price dropped (between January 20 and 21), On-Balance Volume (OBV) formed a higher bottom. This shows that selling pressure decreased and large buyers took over. OBV follows trading volume, and this divergence usually appears near local bottoms.
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Large buyers seem to have reacted to the change.
In the last 24 hours, the amount of Ethereum held by large players (excluding exchanges) increased from 103.73 million ETH to 104.08 million ETH. This means they bought approximately 350,000 ETH in a day.
With today's ETH price, these purchases are valued at just over 1.03 billion USD.
This shows that large buyers did not buy when the price was at its highest. They entered after the trend changed direction and the price tested an important support. They viewed the decline as an opportunity to buy, not sell. But there may be more reasons.
Ethereum reclaims second place for daily unique addresses, surpassing SEI.
It's not just the technical picture that has improved.
On January 23, Ethereum reclaimed second place among Layer-1 DUAs (daily unique addresses), just behind BNB. This is what BeInCrypto analysts report. Ethereum surpassed SEI, which has seen a lot of activity recently due to gaming projects. opBNB (layer-2 for BNB), another competitor, still ranks higher.
This is important because unique daily addresses show actual usage of the network and not just speculation on price. That Ethereum is now rising again as layer-1 means that activity has started to recover, even though the price is lower than previous peaks. SEI has long been Ethereum's biggest competitor.
Additionally, the number of addresses on Ethereum is increasing faster than for all other major layer-2 networks.
The positive development has already started to show on social media.
Ethereum's social dominance surged from around 0.37% to 4.43% since yesterday, quickly reaching almost 5.8% before falling again. Previously, such peaks in social dominance have often preceded short price increases for ETH. It is the same period when large players bought over 1 billion USD in ETH.
For example:
On January 17, a local peak in social dominance occurred. After this, ETH rose by 2.1% in the following sessions.
On January 21, a new peak preceded a rise of 3.4% within 24 hours.
This does not guarantee a rally, but shows that when the network has become relevant, the price has also increased in the short term. Ethereum is now back to number two in terms of daily unique addresses. This provides a fundamental reason for the increased attention.
Ethereum price levels now hold the key.
From here, Ethereum's structure is clear.
Downward, 2,860 USD is an important support. That level ended the decline of 15.6% and large investors entered there. If the price clearly goes below this zone, the positive case weakens, and there is a risk of lower levels.
ETH needs to rise above 3,010 USD. That's only 2.6% above the current price. If that happens, it shows short-term strength. Continued upward pressure could then push the price towards 3,350 USD. That level has acted as resistance since mid-January.
If that resistance is broken, Ethereum's price could aim for higher levels near 3,490 USD and 3,870 USD. But if 2,860 USD does not hold, focus will return to 2,770 USD. Then perhaps the recovery scenario will not apply anymore.
