ETH Bears Eye Sub-$1,800 as US DoJ Considers Binance Fraud Charges

Key Insights:

• ETH joined the broader market in the red on Wednesday, falling 1.81% to end the day at $1,840.
• News of the US Department of Justice considering filing fraud charges against Binance weighed.
• The shorter-term technical indicators remain bearish, signaling a fall to sub-$1,800.

Ethereum (ETH) fell by 1.81% on Wednesday. Reversing a 0.92% gain from Tuesday, ETH ended the day at $1,840. The bearish session left ETH short of $1,900 for the tenth consecutive session.

Ethereum Price Action

This morning, ETH was down 0.10% to $1,838. A mixed start to the day saw ETH fall to an early low of $1,837 before rising to a high of $1,845.

Daily Chart

The Daily Chart showed ETH hovering above the $1,815 – $1,795 support band. ETH also sat below the 50-day EMA ($1,869) while holding above the 200-day ($1,785), sending bearish near-term but bullish longer-term price signals. Notably, the 50-day EMA narrowed to the 200-day EMA, a bearish price signal.

Looking at the 14-Daily RSI, the 42.90 reading reflects bearish sentiment, supporting a fall through the $1,815 – $1,795 support band to target the 200-day EMA ($1,785). However, an ETH move through the 50-day EMA ($1,869) would support a breakout from the $1,865 – $1,895 resistance band (previously the support band) to target $1,950.

4-Hourly Chart

Looking at the 4-Hourly Chart, the ETH/USD faces strong resistance at $1,850. ETH sits above the $1,815 – $1,795 support band. ETH remained below the 50-day ($1,861) and 200-day ($1,874) EMAs, sending bearish near and longer-term price signals.

An ETH move through the 50-day and 200-day EMAs would support a breakout from the $1,865 – $1,895 support band to target $1,950. However, failure to move through the 50-day EMA would leave the $1,815 – $1,795 support band in play.

The 14-4H RSI reading of 40.74 sends bearish price signals, with selling pressure outweighing buying pressure. Significantly, the RSI aligns with the 50-day EMA, supporting a fall through the $1,815 – $1,795 support band.

US DoJ Threat to Charge Binance for Fraud Weighed

The news hit the wires on Wednesday of the US Justice Department considering fraud charges against Binance. However, concerns over the impact of charges on Binance leave the DoJ torn between filing charges or imposing a fine or a non-prosecution agreement. Fears of a run on the exchange and the cost to customers raise the chances of alternative punitive measures.

While the DoJ considers the impact of filing charges against Binance, the threat of filing charges could lead to a run on the world’s largest exchange.

Uncertainty surrounding SEC plans to appeal the SEC v Ripple ruling and the SEC approving the spot BTC ETFs remained headwinds mid-week.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler labeled ETH a security this year, exposing ETH to SEC moves to target the US digital asset space.

Staking Statistics Send Bearish Price Signals

According to CryptoQuant, staking inflows fell from 37,472 ETH on Tuesday to 27,648 on Wednesday. The fall in staking inflows to sub-30,000 was a bearish price signal.

The overnight withdrawal profile was bearish, with ETH principal withdrawals spiking before returning to normal levels. However, withdrawal projections for the morning session are bullish. Projections show ETH withdrawals will remain at below-normal withdrawal levels.

On Tuesday, the net staking balance stood at a 33,060 ETH surplus ($60.79 million), up 61% over 24 hours. Deposits totaled 38,230 versus withdrawals of 5,170 ETH.

According to TokenUnlocks, total pending withdrawals stood at 45,200 ETH, equivalent to approximately $83.40 million. Notably, the staking APR stood at 5.76%, up 0.88% over 24 hours. While the staking APR upward trend and rise in the net staking balance are bullish, elevated pending withdrawals are a bearish price scenario.