The price of Ethereum went from $980 to $1,743 due to the excitement surrounding the upcoming merger. As we enter the second month of Q3 2022, there is a high chance that the price will fall in the $2,000 to $2,400 range. The world’s largest exchange for crypto-based options trading, Deribit, has over 90% of the market’s total trading volume. The total value of open options contracts on the exchange is around $5.7 billion, 32% higher than the locked-in value of bitcoin options.
Ethereum is Surging as the Merge Nears
After being rejected at around $1,700 today, Ethereum is currently trading at about $1,652. The weekly resistance level is approximately $1,722, suggesting that bulls need to break this region to push the price higher.
The weekly chart of Ethereum shows that there are more sales than buys, as the price is moving higher ahead of the anticipated merge. The relative strength index (RSI) has also moved up to 43, which indicates that the bulls are still buying.
Despite trying to break above the resistance of $1,722, the Ethereum price is still below the 200 and 50 EMA. The 50 EMA is acting as support. A break below it could cause the price to move from $1,200 to $1,012. The daily chart shows that the selling pressure is still strong and could continue until the merge sentiment is resolved.
The price of Ethereum broke above the 200 and 50 EMAs on the 4H chart. However, it is still trading below the 200 EMA. Despite the bullish movement, the price is still rejecting and trading below the 50 EMA.
Ethereum Gas Prices Plunge 51.41%, Compared to June
According to trackers, in June, the average gas price in Ethereum was 55.26 gwei, while in July, it was 26.85 gwei. The number of transactions in Ethereum during June was 31,087,190, equivalent to over one thousand transactions per day. From July 1 to July 31, there were 37,153 023 transactions. The average transaction volume was 1,198,485. The increase in the number of transactions per day was 15.66%.
Despite the increase in the number of transactions, the gas fees decreased in July, reaching their lowest price since April 2020. This move is because the number of transactions increased, which usually leads to a higher gas price.
The number of Ethereum active addresses on July 26, 2022, increased significantly to 1,066,897. It was the largest spike in the history of the platform, and it also set a new record for the total number of unique addresses.
On July 31, there were over 1.6 million transactions, with almost 30% on the Binance exchange. This move could be because of various events that occurred that day, such as the launch of the NFT collection.
Bears are Gaining Momentum
The price of Ethereum is currently testing the confluence of the 50 and 8hr simple moving averages. A break below this level might cause a further decline. The next support level is at the 50 and ascending trend lines.
If the price of Ethereum breaks below the support confluence at $1,250, it will immediately erase all of the gains made last week. The next critical support area is the buyer congestion zone, followed by the 200 and 8-hr moving averages.
If the price of Ethereum manages to hold above the confluence support level, it will trigger a bullish outlook. It could be because the developers will likely address the risks associated with the proposed merger. A break above the resistance area could also trigger a significant investor interest. On the other hand, a break below this level could cause a further decline.
Source: https://crypto.news/ethereum-20-eth-gas-plunge-51-41/