Ethereum price continues to struggle just below the $1,590 mark on Friday, having failed to establish steady support above $1,600 this week. Can bullish-leaning derivatives trading signal fuel an ETH price breakout in the days ahead?
Ethereum (ETH) Wobbling under $1,600 Support as Sell-off Cools
Etheruem price struggled at the start of the week, as investors sold down ETH holdings to acquire other DeFi-focused altcoins like Solana, and Hedera after Trump repealed a Biden-approved tax reporting and KYC law that kept bearish over hang over these projects, while Ethereum enjoyed special regulatory status after its ETH ETFs approval in 2024.
Ethereum price action, April 18, 2025 | Coingecko
However, Ethereum market sell-off now appears to have cooled. Since falling below $1,600 on Monday, ETH has found footing around the $1,590 level. At press time Coinkeco data shows ETH price hovering at the $1,593 area, posting 0.5% gains in the last 24 hours.
This affirms that Ethereum sell-out may be subsiding. Strategic traders could interpret this bottom-formation signal as prompt to renter new positions in the day ahead.
Derivatives Snapshot: Long Bias Returns Despite Drop in Volume
The latest derivatives data reveals subtle hints affirming that the Ethereum price action could be forming a local bottom. According to Coinglass Derivatives market analysis for Friday shows that despite a -40.27% drop in total volume, open interest ticked up +1.63% to $18.01 billion—indicating growing conviction behind existing positions rather than new leverage chasing the bounce.
Ethereum Derivatives Markets Analysis | Source: Coinglass
Options activity slumped, with volume down -30.11% and open interest falling -8.49%, suggesting short-term traders are waiting for clearer trend confirmation. However, across key exchanges like Binance and OKX, the long/short ratio remains decisively bullish.
Binance ETH/USDT long/short ratio (accounts): 2.7202
OKX ETH ratio: 2.5
Top Binance traders (accounts): 3.3422 long/short ratio
Top Binance traders (positions): 1.893
This sustained long bias—especially among top-performing accounts—suggests smart money is positioning for an upside break. Liquidation data supports the same narrative. Over the past 24 hours, $12M in positions were wiped, with $9.6M in long liquidations versus just $2.4M in shorts—indicating that the sharp price recovery may have caught late bears off-guard.
Importantly, rekt data over the 12h window shows $4.98M in long liquidation compared to $1.93M in shorts, meaning some long over-leverage got flushed earlier, potentially resetting funding for a more sustainable push upward.
The next 48 hours are crucial. If derivatives metrics hold steady while spot demand continues to support ETH at the $1,590 level, a breakout above $1,600 could be imminent.
Ethereum Price Forecast Today: ETH Targets $1,667 as Consolidation Tightens and RSI Flattens
Ethereum price forecast today leans cautiously bullish as ETH consolidates near $1,593, with narrowing Bollinger Bands suggesting an imminent volatility expansion.
ETH price action remains range-bound between $1,420 support and $1,667 resistance, with Thursday’s close holding above the 20-day moving average—a subtle but constructive sign for bulls. Notably, the Bollinger midline aligns with this moving average at $1,420, reinforcing it as a pivot point for directional bias.
Ethereum price forecast
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) has stabilized near 40.42, slightly above its signal line at 36.39. While this is technically bearish territory, the flattening RSI trajectory may hint at weakening downside momentum. Ethereum price forecast today must account for this divergence: momentum remains weak, yet no new lows are forming—indicating the sell-side pressure is possibly exhausted.
A daily close above $1,667 would confirm a breakout from this coil and open a path toward $1,913. On the contrary, a drop below $1,420 would expose ETH to $1,300 lows. However, rising volume delta suggests quiet accumulation is underway, supporting a bullish resolution in the near term.
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