Highlights:
- Ethereum struggling at the $1602.9 resistance
- Rally off the $1602.9 resistance could see Ethereum test $1700
- Rising adoption could trigger such a rally for Ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) experienced a minor gain in trading on Wednesday, mirroring the relative calm in the crypto market. At ETH’s last valuation, it can be purchased for $1,593.17, which translates to a 1.12% gain on the day. Trading volumes also noted a slight increase of 7.65%, totaling $14.3 billion. This data indicates that Ethereum’s near-term projections are now more optimistic but cautious.
Optimism in Ethereum Sustained by Market Fundamentals
The increase in volume, accompanied by a mild price increase, indicates market participants’ optimism regarding Ethereum’s fundamentals. One of the primary factors associated with the growth of sentiment is the increasing global adoption of Ethereum and other crypto assets. Panama City, for instance, has advanced the adoption of crypto by approving the payment of public dues via crypto assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDC, and USDT.
Panama City’s mayor also posted on X, announcing that the city council has adopted a proposal that permits residents to use digital currencies to pay taxes, traffic arrest permits, various fees, and tickets. This is a significant leap in terms of the progression of crypto in Central America. In addition to the slow evolutionary backbone years, it represents the countries grappling with and diversifying into more realistic and supportive government-sponsored utilitarian scenarios. It is a move that gives investors hope for the future of Ethereum.
🇵🇦 Panama City council has just voted in favor of becoming the first public institution of government to accept payments in Crypto.
Citizens will now be able to pay taxes, fees, tickets and permits entirely in crypto starting with BTC, ETH, USDC, USDT@APompliano @aantonop…
— Mayer Mizrachi (@Mayer) April 15, 2025
Analysts Sending Mixed Reactions on Ethereum’s Price Short-Term Direction
That said, analysts still hold mixed expectations for Ethereum in the near term. One key factor driving bearish sentiment is the rising competition in the L1 space. Ethereum now has multiple competitors to worry about, such as Solana and Sui, which are more attractive to developers due to their quicker speeds and cheaper fees.
Additionally, Ethereum critics claim that the Pectra Upgrade, a key improvement to Ethereum, fails to resolve Ethereum’s primary issues of scalability and exorbitant gas fees. This has led some analysts to question whether Ethereum can continue leading the smart contracts market.
Other analysts believe the competition is not close to Ethereum. DeFi Llama data indicates that Ethereum has a significant total value locked (TVL) of $46.8 billion, vastly surpassing rivals Solana and BNB Chain, which have $6.8 billion and $5.2 billion, respectively. This position reinforces Ethereum’s long-term value proposition.
$ETH destroys every other L1 on TVL metrics, and it’s not even close.$ETH and it’s L2s ($64 Billion) have:
8x the TVL of $SOL
10x the TVL of $BTC
13x the TVL of $BSC
15x the TVL of $TRON
53x the TVL of $AVAX
128x the TVL of $ADA“Oh but TVL is an outdated metric”
Saying TVL… pic.twitter.com/fAovsuGwBG
— Etheraider (@etheraider) March 3, 2025
Ethereum Technical Indicators Show Mixed Signals
From a technical perspective, Ethereum is hovering around two-year lows, but some analysts believe there are signs of a potential rebound. Historically, Ethereum experienced a rally after the Relative Strength Index settled in the oversold region. Instead of consolidation, however, ETH recently set a lower low rather than a higher low, which points toward a potential new trend.
Daan, a crypto trades analyst, remarked that Ethereum has lost several critical support levels compared to Bitcoin over the preceding years. ETH/BTC is currently at 0.019, with the last significant support sitting at 0.016, roughly 20% lower, further claiming that Ethereum could face more relative downside risk compared to Bitcoin should the trend persist.
$ETH Traded down to 2016-2020 levels and has not cared about a single "support" level so far.
A good first step could be for this to retake that ~0.0228 area which would be a change in dynamics.
Think this area down here between 0.016-0.02 is interesting to watch regardless of… pic.twitter.com/m2iRVwbzsO
— Daan Crypto Trades (@DaanCrypto) April 14, 2025
However, bullish analysts see Ethereum headed for a significant rebound. Ted, another analyst, forecasts Ethereum reaching $2,000 if it manages to close above $1670, suggesting that the price rally could happen if ETH breaks above a downward trendline on short time frames. Titan of Crypto, another analyst, pointed out that Ethereum is reaching the breakout point of an ascending triangle pattern with a potential long-term target of $3,600.
$ETH is getting closer to a breakout.
Global markets are gaining some strength, so expect Ethereum to hold the $1,550-$1,600 level.
For now, I'm hoping for a breakout above and close above $1,670 for a rally towards $2K. pic.twitter.com/qVsWLKK82n
— Ted (@TedPillows) April 15, 2025
Technical Analysis – Ethereum Price Showing Weakness at Resistance
Ethereum has been on a sustained rebound after hitting $1546.6 support on April 16. However, bulls appear to be struggling at the $1602.9 resistance.

If bears take control and another wave of selloffs follows, Ethereum could return to the $154.6 support in the short term. On the other hand, if bulls gain momentum and push Ethereum through the $1602.9 resistance, then a rally to $1649.4, or higher, could follow.
Recap
Ethereum is counterbalanced by the competing factors of maturing adoption, technological upgrades, position in the market, and structural shifts within. For this reason, Ethereum investors continue to exercise caution. While some analysts expect more downside, others believe Ethereum could be headed for a breakout to $2000 and higher.
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