In the fifth month of the year, Ether's price fell below its resistance level of US$1,900

Lengthy Decline in Ether's Price: The second-largest cryptocurrency in the world didn't begin 2023 on an impressive note. To make matters worse, in the fifth month of the year, Ether's price fell below its resistance level of US$1,900, signaling an approaching slump in the cryptocurrency market. But is it the calm before the storm? Where is Ethereum headed in 2023? Let's explore. 

Following Bitcoin's success, Ethereum emerged as the second-most-important cryptocurrency in the digital token sphere. Owing to its amazing applications and features, Ether gained a market capitalization of US$412 billion (US$219 billion right now). Although this cryptocurrency has positioned itself in a strong spot, the so-called 'Ethereum Killers' like Solana, Cardano, and Avalanche are trying their best to take over its position. Besides, these competing cryptocurrencies are trying to improve on Ethereum's biggest flaws. Here are the three key factors that signal a lengthy decline in ether's price.

A plethora of reasons and real-time market concepts are contributing to Ethereum's fall. Some of them are listed as follows. 

Uniqueness is Becoming Common: While Bitcoin is considered a major investment model, people opt for Ethereum solely for its amazing advancements in smart contracts, decentralized applications, NFTs, etc. These are some of the unique features that made Ethereum's platform stand out from others. But as technological advancements are approaching other cryptocurrencies, especially the 'Ethereum Killers', the solidarity of ETHER is collapsing. Besides, the high gas fees in the Ethereum network are pushing small investors to choose other platforms. Already, innovative projects have moved to Solana. NFT enthusiasts are also choosing other cryptos like Cardano and Polkadot, which are building advanced ecosystems for the disruptive art model. 

Ethereum is Bearing the Cryptocurrency Market's Pressure: It is not just Ethereum that is facing a slump in the last few months. Therefore, experts say that Ethereum could be bearing the massive selling pressure felt elsewhere in the cryptocurrency market in recent weeks. Bitcoin, the major cryptocurrency in the market, is also recording severe price hits in recent months. After reaching a record US$68,500 in October 2021, BTC's price dropped to US$26,000. Therefore, once the cryptocurrency market reaches a healing phase, Ethereum's price will also reach its previous high. 

Slip in Following the Timeframe: After the recent Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade, the second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum (ETH), crossed the US$2,100 level, generating a buzz in the crypto community.  

Ether's Price At Risk 

At the time of writing, Ether's price was trading at US$1,826.61, down 1.78% on the day, with a 24-hour trading volume of US$5,782,226,420. The largest altcoin was trading within a significant supply stretching from US$1,800 to US$1,900. If the price volatility remains the same, the Ethereum price could remain within this area for some time.

A daily candlestick close below the US$1,850 psychological level could see ETH drop toward the US$1,700 defense level. This would represent a 2.4% drop in the past seven days. This could be where Ethereum's downside is capped for the short term.

However, in case of immense selling, Ethereum could drop below US$1,800 to revisit the 50-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at US$1,768, the 100-day SMA at US$1,678, and the 200-day SMA at US$1,486.