Ethereum Marches Upward Without Leverage Overheating – Sign Of Structural Health?

As Ethereum (ETH) trades slightly above $4,300, some crypto analysts opine that the cryptocurrency’s current trend shows enough structural health. However, they also caution that a lack of funding rates across exchanges means low demand for ETH, which may limit its breakout momentum.

According to a CryptoQuant Quicktake post by contributor ShayanMarkets, Ethereum’s funding rates across exchanges are relatively muted when compared to the digital asset’s last three major highs.

For instance, during the first major high in early 2024, ETH funding rates across crypto exchanges had surged to 0.8, suggesting excessive long positioning and speculative demand. Shortly, the price topped out as overheated leverage took its toll on the digital asset.

During the second peak in late 2024 – as illustrated in the following chart – ETH reached similar price levels but this time with far lower funding rates. Although this hinted at a less speculative market, the lack of strong, sustained momentum eventually weighed down on ETH’s price.

In contrast to the above two instances, ETH’s 2025 rally saw it create a new all-time high (ATH) of $4,900 – despite relatively muted funding rates. This brings into focus one key divergence – ETH is hitting new highs even in the absence of aggressive long positioning that fueled earlier rallies.

ShayanMarkets states there are two key implications of this new-found divergence. The analyst remarked:

On one hand, the market appears more spot-driven and structurally healthier, as price is not being pushed by excessive leverage. On the other hand, the absence of aggressive demand also limits breakout momentum, leaving ETH in a slower-moving environment where new order flow will be essential for continuation.

Concluding, the CryptoQuant contributor noted that ETH’s higher highs against declining funding rates show that the current market is more resilient against sudden liquidation cascades. However, it also requires a lot more conviction from buyers to sustain the next leg higher.

Although ETH is currently trading just about 12% below its ATH, some analysts forecast that the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap may be headed for a correction. Crypto analyst Ted Pillows predicted that ETH may drop all the way down to $3,900 before its next rally.

That said, there are several other data metrics that point toward a potential bullish rally for ETH. For instance, the ETH exchange supply ratio on major exchanges like Binance recently hit a low of 0.037, which may aid in the so-called “supply crunch” for the digital asset.

In similar news, Ethereum exchange balance recently turned negative for the first time, suggesting that more tokens are being withdrawn from exchanges than deposited. At press time, ETH trades at $4,334, up 0.6% in the past 24 hours.