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Ethereum traded at $1,660.45 with a 0.02% daily gain as traders weighed strong institutional accumulation, rising derivatives leverage, and continued technical weakness. The token stayed below its short-term average, held above its intermediate trend, and remained under its long-term line.
BitMine bought 125,000 ETH over three days, according to reports. The purchases pointed to steady institutional demand during a period of soft prices. At the same time, Ethereum exchange balances fell to record lows. CryptoQuant data showed only 14.5 million ETH on centralized exchanges, down from about 20 million across most of 2024.
The decline started around July 2025 and kept moving lower. Withdrawals from Binance and Coinbase shifted ETH into staking, self-custody wallets, and corporate reserves.
Derivative activity also climbed fast. The Coin Republic cited CryptoQuant data showing Ethereum open interest on Binance reaching a six-year high of 616,400 ETH.
That level increased leverage across the market. It raised the risk of sharper moves in the short term. Technical readings stayed mixed across hourly charts. ETH/USD traded below MA-20, stayed above MA-50, and remained under MA-200, which kept long-term pressure in place.
The Ichimoku Kijun line at $1,663.15 acted as immediate resistance. Price hovered near session lows, while MACD signaled buying and ADX stayed neutral.
Read More: Ethereum News Today: Sentiment Falls to Extreme Fear as ETH Nears $1,500 Key Support Level
Ethereum network activity also stayed strong. Daily active addresses held above 1 million and recently rose beyond 1.3 million, well above past cycle peaks. By comparison, active addresses reached 720,000 in 2018 and about 800,000 during the 2021 bull run. Leon Waidmann of Lisk said the buying pattern showed that “whoever is buying here isn’t selling back.”
Regulatory and protocol work moved ahead. Bitcoin Sistemi reported that Ethereum developers are preparing EIP-8182 for the Hegotá hard fork, which aims to add native privacy features.
Traders Union analyst Anton Kharitonov said BitMine’s demand, mixed momentum, and elevated leverage keep the short-term setup cautious. He added that the base case remains rangebound unless ETH clears $1,708.80.
Ethereum is also expected to trade between $1,500.81 and $1,708.80 over the next two to three sessions. That range reflects the current balance between buying pressure, weak technical structure, and rising market leverage.
Ethereum is under mixed pressure as BitMine keeps buying, exchange balances fall to record lows, and Binance derivatives leverage rises. Strong network activity and privacy-focused development support long-term interest, but short-term traders still face rangebound action. A clear breakout above resistance may decide ETH’s next move.
