Ethereum (ETH) extended its sharp decline this week, falling to a low of $2,180 — a drop of over 54% from its highest level since August last year. The retreat trimmed its market capitalization to roughly $274 billion.
On-Chain Activity Spikes Despite Price Slump
Data from Nansen reveals a stark contrast between price action and network health. Active addresses surged 45% over the past 30 days to exceed 15 million. Daily transactions climbed 40% to 68 million, the highest in years. Chain fees followed suit, rising 40% to over $15 million in the same period — a rebound after months of declines.
DeFi and RWA Sectors Keep Expanding
Ethereum's decentralized exchange (DEX) network processed $52.8 billion in January, up from $49 billion in December. Leading platforms include Uniswap, Curve Finance, Fluid, and Balancer. The network's real-world asset (RWA) tokenization market also grew, with distributed asset value increasing 15% to $14.4 billion. Stablecoin supply on Ethereum topped $165 billion. Institutional players like Fidelity, JPMorgan, and Janus Henderson continue to use Ethereum for their tokenized assets.
Technical Setup Favors Bears
On the daily chart, ETH formed a bearish flag pattern — a sharp drop followed by a consolidation channel — and has since broken below the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement at $2,753. It now trades under the 50-day moving average and the Supertrend indicator. A bearish pennant is also forming, suggesting continuation. The next major support lies at $2,000, where a retest looks increasingly plausible.