Ethereum has been navigating a defined trading range over the past two weeks, with price action now challenging the upper boundary around $2,650.
The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap is showing signs of renewed bullish momentum after successfully defending a critical support zone earlier this week.
Sideways Price Action
The hourly chart reveals Ethereum has established a clear trading range between $2,421.75 and $2,650.90, with price oscillating between these boundaries throughout May. After testing the lower support around $2,421.75 on May 18-19, ETH staged a strong recovery rally, closing three consecutive sessions with higher lows and higher highs.
The most recent price action shows ETH/USD pushing against the upper boundary of this range at $2,650.90, currently trading at $2,625.16. This resistance level has rejected price advances twice in the past month – once in mid-April and again on May 13 – making the current test particularly significant. A decisive break above this level could trigger a new leg higher, potentially targeting the $2,800-$3,000 zone.
What’s notable is how well-defined these range boundaries have become. The $2,421.75 support has been tested multiple times since early May, with buyers consistently stepping in to defend this level. Similarly, the $2,650.90 resistance has capped upward momentum reliably, creating a technical structure traders can use for both entry and exit decisions.
The 100 SMA (blue line) and 200 SMA (red line) have recently crossed, with the 100 SMA now positioned below the 200 SMA. While this typically signals bearish momentum in the medium term, Ethereum has managed to climb above both moving averages in the last few sessions. The price is currently using the 100 SMA around $2,520 as dynamic support, which is a positive technical development.
Building Bullish Momentum
The momentum indicators are painting a constructive picture for Ethereum bulls. The stochastic oscillator has moved above the 50 level and is trending higher, approaching but not yet reaching overbought territory. This suggests there’s still room for the rally to extend before exhaustion sets in. The fact that stochastic hasn’t reached extreme levels indicates the current move may be sustainable rather than a short-term spike.
Meanwhile, the MACD indicator (Moving Average Convergence Divergence) shows increasing positive momentum. The blue and orange lines have executed a bullish crossover, and the histogram bars are expanding above the zero line, confirming growing buying pressure. This MACD configuration often precedes sustained price moves, lending credibility to the potential for a range breakout.
From a risk management perspective, traders should monitor the $2,600 psychological level as immediate support, followed by the 200 SMA around $2,550. A daily close below the 100 SMA at $2,520 would invalidate the current bullish setup and potentially signal a retest of the range low at $2,421.75.
Ethereum’s price action appears to be mirroring broader market sentiment in the crypto space, although still falling behind bitcoin’s impressive rally past its all-time highs while the rest of the altcoins have yet to catch up to the momentum as well.
