Ethereum prices rebound, long targets exceed $1,960

Ethereum prices rose nearly 2% on August 17, recovering from the $1,872 region, as buyers held on to short-term support and pushed ETH above $1,900.

Summary

Ethereum prices rose to intraday highs near $1,912 after opening at around $1,876. A whale transferred 32,400 ETH units (worth approximately US$61.46 million) into an Ethereum pledge contract. The momentum at the 4-hour level has improved, but the daily chart shows that ETH is still below its 200-day moving average. Liquidity clusters near $1,925 and $1,950 may determine Ethereum's next move.

Today's price trend of Ethereum

According to data, the price of Ethereum (ETH) was approximately US$1,908 at the time of writing, and rose 1.7% on the day. According to the Binance daily chart, the intraday fluctuation range of the token is US$1,872 to US$1,912. The rally accelerated after ETH regained the $1,890 region, which had limited price gains in the past three trading days. Buyers then pushed the token above $1,900, but this trend has not yet formed an effective breakthrough into the wider August range.

Since the end of July, Ethereum has mainly traded between $1,850 and $1,960. Many attempts to break through the upper limit of this range were unsuccessful, while a correction to around $1,850 - 1,870 continues to attract buyers. As a result, the rebound on August 17 was another test of the upper limit of the range rather than a confirmation of a return to the broader upward trend. Although ETH has recovered from a June low of about $1,530, it is still about 47% lower than its price a year ago.

Whale pledges and online research support market sentiment

On-chain activities add impetus to positivity. According to monitoring, an unknown address transferred 32,400 ETH (worth approximately US$61.46 million) into a pledge contract. The data suggests that the address may be related to Bitpanda. Placing ETH in pledge contracts reduces the immediate tradeable supply in the spot market, but a single transaction does not prove that holders bought the tokens during Monday's rally. The pledged ETH can also be re-entered into circulation through Ethereum's withdrawal process.

Internet development news provides another emotional catalyst. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin mentioned Bitcoin's Utreexo model, while Ethereum researchers are studying native UTXO and recursive STARK proofs. According to reports, the proposed method could allow nodes to verify relevant data without locally storing the state of the entire network. The work is still a research direction rather than a planned Ethereum upgrade, but it addresses concerns about the cost and hardware requirements of running nodes.

Ethereum indicator shows buyers dominate above $1,900

Ethereum's 4-hour chart shows that short-term momentum has shifted in favor of buyers. ETH broke through the middle track of the Bollinger Band by US$1,884 and briefly touched US$1,902 near the upper track. A breakthrough on the upper track indicates stronger momentum, but if buyers fail to hold on to the breakthrough, it may also lead to a short-term correction. The current immediate support area lies between US$1,884 and US$1,868 near the US$1,864 mid-track.

The 4-hour Relative Strength Index (RSI) rose to 63.66 from a signal average of 50.58. The reading is still below the overbought threshold of 70, leaving room for further gains, but also indicating that momentum has rapidly strengthened from neutral levels. Daily charts present a more cautious picture. ETH traded above its 20th, 50th and 100th simple moving averages, at around $1,889,$1,845 and $1,869 respectively. Holding above these moving averages will maintain the rebound structure that has been in place since June.

However, the 200-day moving average is still well above the current price, at around US$2,009. Ethereum needs to break through that level before its long-term chart can turn more convincingly in favor of buyers. The daily Chaikin Fund Flow (CMF) reading was minus 0.04. A negative value indicates that selling pressure is still slightly higher than buying pressure, meaning that the price rebound has not yet received strong confirmation of the flow of funds.

Liquidation heat chart puts $1,925 in focus

CoinGlass's Ethereum week-long liquidation heat chart shows a large concentration of leveraged positions around $1,920 - 1,930. The brightest liquidity band is around $1,925, which could become a potential target in the near future if ETH remains above $1,900. Breaking through this area could force short positions to close positions, adding market orders to gains. Another significant cluster of liquidity is located around $1,945 - 1,950, which is consistent with the upper boundary of Ethereum's recent trading range.

There is also a concentration of liquidity below the market. The strongest downtrend bands appear around $1,860 and $1,850. A loss of the four-hour support level of $1,868 could pull ETH towards these levels, while leveraged long positions would come under pressure. Analyst Ted Pillows said Ethereum's uptrend is still intact, but identified $1,960 as the level needed to gain stronger upward momentum. His chart places the main breakthrough area at approximately $1,945 to $1,960.

Confirming that a close above $1,960 will open the way to $2,030, followed by a wider resistance area around $2,190. The first target is also close to the downward 200-day moving average, which could limit initial breakthroughs. Pillows puts structural support at around $1,820. A break below that level would weaken a series of higher lows that have formed since June and could expose lower support near $1,713.

The U.S. macro environment remains a risk for ETH

Ethereum's rebound comes as U.S. investors assess whether inflation data will allow the Fed to relax monetary policy. Higher Treasury yields and a strong U.S. dollar reduce demand for risky assets as investors get more attractive returns from government bonds. Regulatory uncertainty still exists. Citibank lowered its 12-month forecast for Ethereum to $3,175 in March, citing stalled progress in promoting legislation on the structure of the U.S. cryptocurrency market and weakening user activity. The bank said stablecoins and tokenization growth could support Ethereum adoption, but warned that the window for legislation to pass before the 2026 midterm elections was narrowing.

Currently, Ethereum must hold on to $1,884 and convert $1,925 into support to continue Monday's rally. A breakthrough of $1,960 will strengthen bullish views, while if it is rejected and falls below $1,868, the $1,850 liquidity area will return to focus.