Ethereum is trading around $2.25K as buyers defend a short‑term support level at $2.2K. The price retreated after a failed breakout earlier this week, and the market now hinges on whether the $2.2K level can hold.
Daily chart overview
The daily chart shows ETH breaking below an ascending channel that had lifted the price from June lows near $1.5K. After peaking near $2.8K in late September, the asset fell through the channel’s midpoint and lost its lower boundary in late October, indicating a deterioration in medium‑term structure.
Subsequent price action retested a $2.5K supply zone, which now overlaps a broken lower trendline, turning former support into resistance. ETH is currently holding the $2.2K support level that marked the late‑October low. Reclaiming $2.5K would be required to restore a bullish case and bring the $2.8K‑$3K supply zone back into view.
A daily close below $2.2K would confirm the channel breakdown and expose a $1.85K demand zone, with the $1.5K region serving as a major floor.
4‑hour chart dynamics
On the 4‑hour chart, ETH has been moving within a descending channel since early October, forming lower highs and lower lows. A brief push above the channel’s upper boundary earlier this week was quickly reversed, trapping late buyers and reinforcing a bearish short‑term outlook.
Current consolidation sits just above the $2.2K demand zone. A bounce toward the upper channel boundary around $2.3K could lead to a test of $2.5K, while a breakdown below $2.2K may drive the price toward the channel’s lower boundary near $2.0K.
On‑chain activity
The “Transactions Between EOA” metric, which tracks transfers between externally owned accounts, rose from roughly 400,000 in 2024 to about 1.3 million in early 2026, then fell sharply to around 560,000 since August. This decline coincides with the loss of the daily channel and suggests reduced peer‑to‑peer activity, though the metric can be influenced by automated transfers and fee conditions.
The contraction in wallet activity, combined with the technical breakdown, points to a lack of strong market catalyst, leaving the $2.2K support level as a critical point for buyers.
