Here’s Why Betting Against Ethereum Right Now Could Be a Mistake

Ethereum (ETH) prices have remained slightly bullish over the past few weeks, but they haven’t been able to sustain the rally that began at the start of the year.

However, the recent network activity and price structure explained why now was not the time to bet against it. With that in mind, the analysis will get into more details as to why this was the case.

Ethereum Network Activity Surges

First, Ethereum’s on-chain activity has increased considerably over the past two weeks, as reported by Ali Charts on X. There are now more than 800,000 active daily addresses. This increase was more than twice as much as the one for previous weeks. Thus, it indicated more participants were using the network.

The activities could have stemmed from DeFi, NFTs, or layer-2 scaling solutions, given ETH’s widespread use in the blockchain. This was an indication that the network was healthy with potential for long-term growth.

Furthermore, ETH usage hit all-time highs while the transaction fees hit all-time lows. The fee reduction was driven by L2 solutions, which reduced network congestion and made it easier to get to.

The surge in network activity could signal bullish momentum for ETH’s price. As a result, this could attract investors and drive up demand for the token.

However, if the surge is temporal or a speculative bubble, it could result in bigger price fluctuations. Hence, prices could decline if adoption slowed or market sentiment worsened.

Ethereum ETFs Flow Over The Past Week

Still, the data from Farside Investors showed Ethereum spot ETFs saw a net inflow of about $479.3 million last week. The five days saw positive net flows, despite some funds showing outflows.

On January 12th, BlackRock saw $79.9 million in outflows, indicating selling pressure. However, Grayscale’s massive buys reversed these outflows, resulting in $5.1 million in inflows. On January 13th, there were $130 million in inflows, led by BlackRock, suggesting renewed interest.

Net inflows reached $175.1 million on January 14 and $164.4 million the following day. This cemented strong demand in Ethereum ETFs.

On January 16, the inflows slowed, recording only $4.7 across all funds. This indicated mixed sentiment even though the overall outlook was positive.

This net weekly inflow could help push ETH prices up as they lock up supply. Institutional capital would accelerate prices further up.

However, the two instances of outflows from Grayscale and BlackRock hinted at potential profit-taking. This indicated a risk of volatility, which could cause short-term corrections if sentiment changed.

Ethereum Price Holding Above a Trendline Support

Again, Ethereum price action was showing strength. Major assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), ETH, Solana (SOL), and Sui Network (SUI), were all maintaining their positions above rising trendline supports. That backed the idea that bearish positioning may have been far-fetched at the time.

Ethereum price was trading close to $3,296 and following an upward trendline that had been in place since the lows in December. Higher lows were also in place, which meant that buyers were still protecting the structure.

If the price stayed above the $3,200–$3,250 zone for a long time, the short-term bias would stay positive. And if momentum builds, the price could go up to $4,200.

Still, the setup did have some risks. If Ethereum price closed below the trendline and dropped below $3,150, the bullish structure would be broken. Thus, ETH was more likely to drop to $2,900.

BTC was holding steady around $95,000, SOL around $144, and SUI around $1.79. This meant the market was stable but still needed confirmation before the trend continued.