Ethereum (ETH) slipped below $1,750 during Asian trading on Thursday, losing nearly 2% in the past 24 hours to trade near $1,737, according to crypto.news. The move followed a wallet linked to a large holder transferring roughly $26.9 million worth of Ether to a centralized exchange, triggering profit-taking after a recent recovery stalled.
The bounce earlier this week ran out of steam just below a major technical resistance zone between $1,800 and $1,806, where the daily Supertrend indicator and the 50-day exponential moving average converged. Technical damage has since mounted. Ethereum's 4-hour chart now shows a distinct bearish rounding-top pattern after the late-June recovery peaked near $1,830. Price has already broken below the ascending trendline that supported the rally and fallen beneath the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement at $1,724 after repeated rejections near the 78.6% level around $1,772.
Momentum Turns Bearish, Liquidation Data Points to $1,650
The 4-hour RSI has dropped to 44 after flirting with overbought territory earlier this week, while the MACD remains below its signal line with expanding negative histogram bars. If sellers maintain control, the next major technical objective sits near the 0.382 Fibonacci retracement at approximately $1,657, closely aligning with the projected rounding-top target around $1,650.
On the daily chart, Ethereum still trades below the 50-, 100-, and 200-day moving averages ($1,789, $2,025, and $2,247), keeping the medium-term trend under pressure. Chaikin Money Flow has stayed slightly above zero, indicating spot demand has not entirely vanished, but buyers have failed to generate enough momentum to reclaim key moving averages.
CoinGlass liquidation data identifies an important support band between $1,700 and $1,720, where a large concentration of leveraged long positions sits. A decisive break below that range could force another wave of liquidations and accelerate a decline toward the $1,650 region. Analyst Ted Pillows noted: "ETH has lost the $1,750 support zone. A daily close below the level would be really bad for Ethereum."
ETF Inflows Continue, But Buying Comes From Spot
Despite price weakness, U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs have recorded four consecutive days of net inflows, and the Coinbase Premium has continued recovering from recent lows, suggesting improved institutional demand. Derivatives positioning tells a different story. According to analyst Rain, Ethereum's 10% gain this week was driven primarily by spot buying rather than leveraged speculation. "Open interest barely moved," Rain wrote on X. "Leverage ratio hasn't recovered from June — this bounce comes from spot demand."
Rain added that net taker volume turned positive on June 28, yet roughly $76.2 million in positions were liquidated over the past day, with long traders bearing most losses after ETH failed to hold above $1,800. Geopolitical tensions have added another headwind. U.S. military action targeting Iranian energy infrastructure sent oil prices higher, revived inflation fears and pushed Treasury yields up. Global tech stocks retreated, dragging cryptocurrencies lower alongside equities.
Key Levels and Path Forward
Bulls must defend $1,700. A sustained daily close below the $1,700–$1,720 support band would reinforce the bearish setup and expose Ethereum to additional losses toward $1,650, with the June low near $1,550 becoming the next major floor. Conversely, if ETH quickly reclaims the $1,800–$1,806 resistance area, the rounding-top pattern would be invalidated, shifting focus back to the recent high at $1,833 and potentially opening the door to the psychological $1,900 level — provided ETF inflows persist and leverage returns to the futures market.
For now, the divergence between spot inflows and derivatives caution leaves Ethereum in a vulnerable spot. Whether the price can avoid sliding toward $1,650 hinges on whether spot buyers can absorb supply above $1,700.