• Ethereum prices steady below $170
• A large team working towards Ethereum 2.0, Vitalik updates

Vitalik is confident that Ethereum 2.0—a state of perfection reflected by high throughput and a scalable network, is right on track. All the same, prices are back to range-mode, and any break above $170 will signal trend continuation.

Ethereum Price Analysis

Fundamentals

No doubt, Ethereum is the king smart contracting. As always, there are benefits that trailblazers or leaders get to enjoy. Because it is a public chain and an improvement of what was a renowned platform in Bitcoin, it was easy for developers to shift and contribute code, pro-bono. Adding this the presence of a figurehead in Vitalik and Ethereum Foundation which is said to be “burning” through $20 million a year, it became easy to engage, deliberate on pressing matters and reach a consensus on the best way to adhere to the project’s roadmap.  However, the journey towards Serenity promises to be hard, slow and quite interesting for the neutral.

On the one hand the shift towards proof-of-stake, which Vitalik recently rapped about; mean the phasing out of proof-of-work hardware in Ethash. These miners are expensive, and although some are heavily invested in, rewards are low and with ProgPoW garnering support from all quarters, it’s a real possibility that Ethash miners will be phased out.

Overly, the objective is a seamless transition from version 1 to Ethereum 2.0 all for the sake of speed, efficiency and complete decentralization as per the mission statement of platform’s whitepaper. Serenity may take months, but Vitalik is assuring supporters that work is in progress as a large team is working towards beating deadlines.

Candlestick Arrangement

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With a market cap of $17,359 million, Ethereum (ETH) is stable but drifting away from $180, our immediate resistance line. If bulls breach this level, traders should be ready for trend continuation towards $250 or higher.

As it is, ETH is back to a trading range. Although traders are optimistic that recovering BTC prices will lift participation, driving ETH prices higher, it all depends on how prices react at $170.

Before then, if prices find support at spot levels and fail to reverse Apr-2 gains, odds are bulls will reverse recent losses. However, the only assurance is if this rally is at the back of high transaction volumes mirroring Apr-2 and exceeding Apr-11’s bar.

Technical Indicators

Regardless of downturns, buyers are firm, and risk-off traders should be accumulating at spot prices. Confirming trend should be above average volumes above 270k and 336k of Apr-11.

Chart courtesy of Trading View

Ethereum (ETH) Under Pressure despite Vitalik Updates on NewsBTC.