Ethereum price to $2,500? This can make things difficult

The Ethereum (ETH) price has rebounded in recent days and is once again approaching important price levels. Some analysts even see room for an increase towards $2,500. Yet there are signs that that path may be less simple than it seems.

Macroeconomic uncertainty is slowing down the Ethereum price

The ETH price reached $2,200 on Wednesday. That was a welcome rebound from a low of around $1,800 in late February. At the same time, it is the highest price for the digital currency in more than a month.

While many investors hope for a continuation of the recent increase, for example towards the psychological limit of $ 2,500, this is proving difficult. Currently, Ethereum is undergoing another slight correction and the coin is trading around $2,060.

One of the biggest obstacles for the token lies outside the crypto market itself. The war in Iran is raising concerns about disruptions in oil production and gas transportation. This caused oil prices to rise to levels not seen since the summer of 2024.

This uncertainty also affects the stock markets and has consequences for crypto. When investors get nervous, they often shift money to safer investments. During such periods, riskier assets such as Ethereum usually struggle. Actually, only the US dollar seems to be benefiting from all the unrest at the moment.

Professional traders remain cautious

The derivatives market also shows that major traders are not yet expecting a strong rally. For example, the premium on Ethereum futures is well below the neutral limit of 5 percent.

Simply put, this means there is little optimism among traders at the moment. It shows that there is little demand for leveraged positions that bet on a rapid increase in price.

In addition, the so-called options skew, an indicator from the options market that shows whether large traders are hedging against a decline or betting on an increase, has recently risen to approximately 7 percent. This means that large players more often buy protection against a possible price drop.

Weaker network activity on Ethereum

There are also signs of cooling within the network itself. After a peak at the end of January, activity has now fallen by more than twenty percent, according to data from The Block.

Activity on Ethereum plays an important role in price development. When many users use the network for applications, this often means more demand for the token.

Transaction costs also increase as network activity increases. Part of those costs are then burned via the so-called burn mechanism. As a result, the supply of ETH may decrease, which in turn is favorable for the price.