Why is Ethereum surging? ETH jumps 6% as whales accumulate

The cryptocurrency market has switched bullish, with Bitcoin and Ether recording excellent gains in the last 24 hours.

Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is up by more than 6% in the last 24 hours and is now trading above $2,250 per coin. 

The rally comes after a ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran.

Whales continue to accumulate more Ether tokens, suggesting a breakout above key levels in the near term. 

Whales increase Ether accumulation

Ether is up by nearly 7% in the last 24 hours, fueled by the ceasefire deal in the Middle East and increased whale accumulation in recent days.

Whales or wallets holding 10,000-100,000 ETH accumulated 230,000 ETH over the past few days. 

Meanwhile, retailers or wallets holding 100-1,000 and 1,000-10,000 ETH held steady, maintaining a similar balance as the prior week.

Over the past two weeks, investors within this bracket have failed to record major declines in their collective holdings, a stark contrast to their behavior in January and February.

If the accumulation continues from whales and retail investors, it could strengthen Ether’s outlook in the near term. 

The derivatives data also shows that Ether’s outlook remains mildly bullish.

Currently, Ethereum's Net Taker Volume has maintained a positive tilt since early March amid range-bound prices.

Net Taker Volume measures the difference in trading volume between buyers and sellers who purchase ETH futures contracts with market orders.

The metric staying in the positive zone indicates that traders are slightly leaning bullish.

Furthermore, the Estimated Leverage Ratio (ELR), which measures the leverage used by traders, spiked over the past month.

The ratio increased from roughly 0.70 in February to 0.93 on Monday. 

According to CoinGlass, Ethereum’s futures Open Interest (OI) has increased to $32.12 billion, up by nearly 6% in the last 24 hours. 

Ethereum price forecast: ETH eyes $2,388 resistance 

The ETH/USD 4-hour chart is bullish but inefficient thanks to the rally over the past 24 hours.

At press time, ETH is trading at $2,256, recording $114.6 million in futures liquidations over the past 24 hours.

The liquidations were driven by $90.6 million in liquidated short positions.

Currently, Ether is trading above the 20-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) and 50-day EMA near $2,090 and $2,145, respectively. 

Momentum has improved as the Relative Strength Index (RSI) on the 4-hour chart now reads 73, approaching the overbought region.

The MACD lines are also within the positive territory, adding further bullish confluence to the pair. 

If the buying pressure persists, Ether could encounter its immediate resistance at the $2,388 zone, the swing high created on March 16.

A rise above this level would give way to a move toward $2,746. 

However, if the market undergoes a correction following this rally, first support is seen at $2,108, just below the 20-day EMA, with a break below exposing $1,911, and then $1,741 as a lower downside level.

The near-term bias would remain bullish as long as the price holds above $2,108.

A daily candle close below $2,108 would shift focus back toward the lower supports and eliminate the emerging bullish bias.