Ethereum Is Up 15% Against Bitcoin Since Shapella — More ETH Price Gains Ahead?
Ether (ETH) entered a sharp price rally a week after hitting a six-month low against Bitcoin (BTC).
On April 18, the widely tracked ETH/BTC pair hit 0.0709 BTC, up about 15% from the local low of 0.0602 BTC six days ago. Now, the pair sees a rally towards 0.075 BTC by June, based on the fractal setup previously discussed here.
Ethereum’s Shapella FOMO
Interestingly, Ether’s local bottom formation versus Bitcoin occurred on the day of Ethereum’s long-awaited Shapella upgrades.
The hard fork enables Ether actors to withdraw their rewards – around 1.1 billion ETH – from Ethereum’s proof-of-stake smart contract. This update may have boosted ETH’s appeal compared to BTC, beating expectations that a newly unlocked Ether supply will increase selling pressure.
Stakers have withdrawn 574,700 ETH – worth around $1.21 billion – since the April 12 Shapella upgrades, according to data obtained by Nansen. Interestingly, Ether’s price in US dollars has increased by 14.25% in the same period.
That means many players have decided to hold on to their Ether rewards. On the other hand, Bitcoin has failed to log a decisive breakout above its $30,000 technical resistance, possibly making ETH a more attractive short-term bet for traders.
Weak institutional inflows versus Bitcoin
Institutional investors have shown more interest in Bitcoin than Ether in the past week, according to CoinShare’s weekly report.
For example, Bitcoin-based investment vehicles witnessed $103.8 million in inflows in the week ending April 14. In comparison, Ethereum funds attracted $300,000, showing that mainstream investors may have followed the “sell the news” strategy after the Shapella upgrades.
Ether’s price, meanwhile, is also at risk of a possible bearish reversal due to the overbought daily relative strength index.
Related: Shapella May Bring Institutional Investors to Ethereum Despite Risks
If the ETH price pulls back from its current resistance level of around $2,140, its immediate downside target will be around $1,984, which served as resistance in May 2022 and August 2022.
An extended selloff could push the Ether price down to its 50-day exponential moving average (50-day EMA; the red wave) near $1,800, down about 15% from today’s price level.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. All investment and trading moves involve risk and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
