Ethereum (ETH) has been stuck in a sideways trend for over a month now. Its price keeps bouncing below the important $3,500 resistance level. But there’s some interesting data that suggests a change might be coming.
First off, let’s talk about holding time. Recent on-chain data shows a significant spike in how long people are holding their ETH coins. In fact, according to IntoTheBlock, this holding time jumped by 55% in just the last week.
So, what does this mean? Well, the holding time indicates how long tokens are kept before they’re sold or transferred. Longer holding periods suggest that investors are feeling confident. They’re choosing to hold onto their coins instead of selling them. This could help reduce selling pressure in the ETH market, which might push the price up.
Now, let’s look at the funding rate. Despite the sideways price movements, ETH’s funding rate has stayed positive. Right now, it’s at 0.019%. This shows that there’s steady demand for long positions among futures traders.
The funding rate is essentially a fee exchanged between traders on perpetual futures contracts. It helps keep the contract price in line with the actual market price. A positive funding rate, even when prices aren’t moving much, indicates that more traders are betting on a price increase. This reflects a bullish sentiment in the market.
Looking ahead, if sell-offs start to diminish, ETH could break through the resistance at $3,516. If it does, we might see the price climb toward $3,684. However, if this upward trend loses steam, the price could fall back into its previous range or drop to support at $3,210.