ETH Struggles as Market Experts Warn of Continued Bearish Momentum with $1.8K in Focus
As leverage levels remain elevated, Ethereum continues to experience significant bearish momentum while market participants closely watch the pivotal $1,800 price level.
According to market experts, Ether (ETH) continues to face significant "downside pressure" that may lead to another wave of ETH price declines as market participants turn their attention to the $1,800 support level.
Key takeaways:
- Elevated leverage levels and positive funding rates combined with declining prices indicate that Ether is experiencing fragile market conditions with continued downside pressure.
- Market experts indicate that ETH needs to maintain the $1,800-$1,750 support area to prevent a more significant correction from occurring.
Market indicators point to continued downside risks for Ether price
Several factors have been identified by analysts that suggest Ether could experience further declines, including high estimated leverage ratios and positive funding rates combined with a "weakening price structure," as noted by CryptoQuant analyst PelinayPA.
The accompanying chart demonstrates that Ether's estimated leverage ratio (yellow line) continues to stay relatively high at approximately 0.74.
The funding rate (blue line) has stayed predominantly positive since mid-April, indicating that long positions continue to be the dominant force in the market. At the same time, the RSI (purple line) is approaching the oversold territory at 31 and has yet to "produced a convincing recovery signal," according to the analyst's Friday QuickTake analysis.
"Leverage remains elevated and long positioning is still dominant, yet price continues to struggle as the RSI reflects weakening momentum," stated the analyst, who further noted:
"Overall this combination suggests that short term downside pressure in the ETH market still remains the dominant structure."
In typical market scenarios, increasing leverage and rising funding rates are generally accompanied by robust price growth. In the current situation, however, leverage stays high even as price continues to establish lower lows.
"But the key signal is that this leverage build-up came alongside heavy sell-side pressure," noted fellow analyst Amr Taha in a separate QuickTake analysis.
The data visualization below indicates that the Binance cumulative net taker volume dropped to approximately -$744 million, representing its lowest negative level since April 6, 2026.
Amr Taha further explained:
"This means new leverage entered the market while aggressive sellers were still in control, making the setup more fragile than a clean bullish open-interest expansion."
The data indicates that derivative positioning is driving the market structure rather than spot demand, resulting in a more vulnerable overall configuration.
Diminishing demand is also evident in US-based spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which are continuing to experience substantial outflows, signaling weakening institutional interest. These ETFs have seen outflows for thirteen straight days, accumulating $695 million in total. Thursday's net outflows of $121 million represented the highest withdrawal amount in two weeks.
As previously reported by Cointelegraph, a breakdown below the critical $2,000 support level and heightened whale selling activity suggest additional downside risk for ETH price in the short term.
Critical $1,800 level must hold for Ether price
The 7% decline in Ether's price over the previous three days has resulted in the loss of the important $2,000 support level, as bearish forces have intensified.
Market participants are now closely monitoring critical downside levels, particularly the $1,800 demand area.
"A good spot buy would be around $1,700-$1,800 key area," stated analyst Suraj Jha in a Friday post on X, who continued:
"A confirmed breakdown below this level could shift the structure bearish and open up continuation to the downside."
Analyst Crypto Patel indicated that Ether's technical structure continues to be "bearish until we reclaim $3050."
The ETH/USD pair "needs to hold $1,750 to keep the long-term bullish case alive," according to the analyst, who added:
"If $1,750 breaks, accumulation zone 2 sits at $1,500-$1,400, a massive discount for long-term holders."
Should a daily candlestick close occur below $1,750, it could initiate another wave of selling, initially targeting the April 2026 low at $1,550 and subsequently aiming for the 2022 macro low near $1,000, as illustrated on the daily chart below. Such a move would result in total losses of 47% from the current price level.
As Cointelegraph previously reported, following the loss of the psychological support at $2,000, the ETH/USD pair could potentially descend toward the $1,900-$1,750 range, which buyers are anticipated to defend with considerable force.