Key Points
Ethereum’s value has remained consistent in the wake of a massive $1.4 billion hack perpetrated by the Lazarus Group.
The cryptocurrency traded at $2,795 on Sunday, slightly above last Friday’s low of $2,665.
This is still approximately 32% below the peak value recorded in December of the previous year.
Recovering Confidence in Ethereum
Data from Coinglass indicates a rise in Ethereum balances on the Bybit platform.
This increase followed a significant drop after the hack was announced.
Balances rose to over 200,000 or $558 million, a significant increase from the previous Friday’s low of 61,000.
Two potential factors could explain this rise in Ethereum balances on Bybit.
Firstly, Bybit may be actively purchasing ETH from the market to restore user confidence.
Secondly, the rise could indicate that customers are transferring ETH back to the exchange as their confidence returns.
This is likely due to Bybit’s commitment to cover 100% of the stolen Ethereum coins and its launch of a $140 million fund to recover the stolen funds.
These developments follow the alleged theft of ETH tokens worth $1.4 billion from Bybit’s cold wallets by North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
The scale of this hack has raised concerns about the security of crypto assets stored in cold wallets by exchanges.
Despite these events, the daily chart suggests that Ethereum may be at risk of a larger drop in the near term.
It has already formed a ‘death cross’ pattern as the 200-day and 50-day weighted moving averages crossed each other, a bearish sign in technical analysis.
Furthermore, Ethereum’s price has formed a bearish flag chart pattern, which is often seen as a sign of continued downward movement.
As a result, the Ethereum token could potentially experience a bearish breakdown, with the next reference level being at $2,155, the lowest point this year, which is about 23% below the current level.
However, if the coin’s value exceeds the 200-day WMA point at $3,085, this bearish outlook would be invalidated.
