Ethereum (ETH) has been gaining momentum in early 2025, bolstered by institutional interest and pro-crypto regulatory expectations. Trading at $3,318 with a 24-hour volume of $26.63 billion, ETH is up 0.14% in the past day and 0.4% over the past month.

Ethereum weekly price chart. Source: Brave New Coin

Ethereum is trading 29.8% below its all-time high of $4,878.26 that was reached on November 2021. Ethereum’s growing adoption and development of Layer-2 scaling solutions, such as StarkNet, signal a potential surge in the near future.

Market Confidence Rises as Regulations Take Shape

Ethereum is backed by a number of factors, including crypto friendly regulation and institutional inflows. Ethereum ETFs, led by BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) saw $3.89 billion in cumulative inflows in the last 24 hours,indicating investors are getting more confident. Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust added $12.49 million in inflows, while smaller ETFs like VanEck and Fidelity also saw inflows.

The shift in regulatory clarity driven by pro crypto politicians has given Ethereum a boost as the DeFi leader. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under acting Chair Mark Uyeda has launched a crypto task force to draft regulations. This is a big shift in the US regulatory landscape, with the SEC, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and other government agencies expected to work together to create aligned crypto policies.

Trump turning towards a pro-crypto stance has added to the market optimism. He campaigned to make the US a global crypto hub and will likely reduce regulations and end lawsuits against big crypto companies like Coinbase and Ripple.

Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Bounces Off Support, Potential Breakout Incoming?

From a technical perspective, Ethereum is finding support at $3,216, with its 20-day simple moving average (SMA) at $3,245.79. The 50-day SMA at $3,368.89 is immediate resistance, the 100-day SMA at $3,523.27 is the next level up and the 200-day SMA at $2,983.39 is the long term support. On the downside, the 20-day SMA is the key support to hold.

Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH Bounces Off Support, Eyes Breakout

The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is 47.57 so we are in a consolidation phase. A break above the 50-day SMA could trigger a move to $3,800 and potentially $4,100. A drop below the 20-day SMA could lead to a retest of the $2,950 support zone which could be bearish.

According to MANDO CT, analysis on X platform, Ethereum ($ETH) is strong and has a lot of room to grow and is ready for big moves. The chart from MANDO CT shows a symmetrical triangle, so we are expecting a breakout to the upside. This bullish breakout will take $ETH to $10,000 which is a long term target.

ETH technical chart. Source: X

MANDO CT also says that the ETH bull run will lift mid and low cap altcoins that are still catching up on their bull run. A key support level is at $3,300, so $ETH needs to hold this level to continue the upward move. Once we break above the upper trend line, $ETH will go up big time to the target.

Institutional Flows and DeFi Growth Boost ETH

In early 2025, ETH saw $166.6m in institutional flows, meaning more adoption. Recent milestones include The Merge, which transitioned Ethereum to a Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism, reducing the network’s energy consumption by 99.95%.

StarkNet, the leading Layer-2 solution, is driving developer activity with over 400 commits in the last 30 days. This improves Ethereum’s transaction scalability and attracts more capital and adoption.

VirtualBacon, a well known crypto analyst, thinks ETH could hit $14,000 by the end of 2025, 4x from current levels. This is based on rising network activity, strong dev engagement and more institutional participation through ETFs and other products.

Vitalik recently said Ethereum is shifting towards privacy, open source and censorship resistance at the application layer. This is in line with the core goals of decentralization and user empowerment.

Amid internal community drama, Vitalik has also taken a strong stand against the criticism of Aya Miyaguchi, the executive director of the Ethereum Foundation. In a post on X, he defended Miyaguchi, calling the comments demanding her resignation “pure evil” and based on a misinterpretation of what she said in a Wired interview.

ETH Consolidation Phase Means Move is Imminent

Ethereum is consolidating around the $3,300 level and traders are unsure. The flat moving averages and neutral RSI show no clear direction.

A close above $3,368.89 (50-day SMA) could bring in new buyers to the $3,800 to $4,000 zone. Below $2,983.39 (200-day SMA) and we will see more selling.

ETH/USD daily chart. Source: Trading View

Ethereum whales have been accumulating a lot of ETH in the last few weeks. This accumulation coincides with less sell pressure as net realized profit taking volumes have dropped 93% from December highs. Distribution to accumulation means more confidence in Ethereum’s long term.

According to Momin’s notes, the crypto market has seen some decent recoveries especially in AI assets after Trump’s announcements. Bitcoin ($BTC) is range bound for now with no immediate changes, Ethereum ($ETH) looks good to rally after yesterday’s peak negative sentiment.

Ethereum’s immediate resistance is at $3,520, support at $3,216 and $2,950. A sustained move above $3,368.89 could take it to $4,500 or higher with strong institutional inflows and network adoption. Ethereum could reach up to $6000 by 2025 end, with scalability improvements, ETF inflows,s and growing DeFi activity.