Ethereum price topped out at $3,496 on Monday July 29, up 9% since Trump’s bullish speech at the weekend, derivatives market data shows that majority of ETH traders are now leaning towards a bullish outlook in the week ahead.
Ethereum price raced towards the $3,400 territory in the early hours of Monday July 29, largely thanks to headwinds from Republican Presidential candidate, Donald Trump.
In a landmark speech at the Bitcoin Nashville conference on July 27, Trump declared long-term support for the crypto industry, promising to may the USA a ‘Bitcoin superpower’.
This event marks the first time a US President has addressed the Bitcoin community directly. Prior the rally on Monday, Ethereum price action had struggled under selling pressure and intense volatility triggered by the newly-approved Ethereum ETFs which began trading on July 22.
After underwhelming 13% decline between July 22 and July 26, it now appears that ETH bull traders responded Trump’s rallying cry over the weekend.
The chart above shows how Ethereum price raced to a daily timeframe peak of $3,396 on July 29. While ETH failed the litmus test at the $3,400 sell-wall, bulls have shown intent to consolidate around the $3,300 area for the next phase of the rally.
Ethereum Funding Rate trends depicted in the Coinglass chart below, confirms this optimistic outlook. Typically, the Funding rate metric measures aggregate fees paid by LONG traders to SHORT contract holders, to keep perpetual futures positions open.
Ethereum funding rates has hit a 30-day peak of 0.0125%, according the latest data from CoinGlass. The funding rate swings into positive percentage values when majority of traders are leaning bullish, and paying higher fees to keep their LONG contracts open.
Zooming out, we see that 0.000125% is Ethereum highest funding rate recorded in over 40-days, dating back to June 8, 2024.
Firstly, by paying unusually high balancing fees and deploying more leverage, Ethereum traders are showing growing conviction that ETH price will advance further in the days ahead, and earn amplified profits on their super-charged LONG positions.
More so, when deploying unusually high leverage as observed in the ETH markets on Monday, strategic traders often proceed to make mild spot purchases to cover possible downsides.
If this scenario plays out, combined with prospective fresh capital inflows from the 9 newly-launched Ethereum ETFs, short-term traders can anticipate more ETH price upside as the week unfolds.
Following the Trump-fuelled 10% upswing, Ethereum’s price has retraced from its recent daily peak of $3,396 to approximately $3,316 at the time of publication on July 29. Despite this pullback, the technical indicators suggest a potential for another bullish leg if ETH can consolidate above the critical $3,300 level.
The Bollinger Bands on the daily chart shows ETH price is approaching 20-day SMA at $3,330. A successful close above this key resistance level could set the stage for a run towards the upper band, which is at $3,615.
The RSI (14) indicator currently reads 48.90, which is in the neutral zone but leaning towards the oversold territory. This suggests that Ethereum has room to grow before hitting overbought conditions. If the RSI can push above 53.05, it could signal a stronger bullish trend, providing further confirmation for the potential upside movement.
In summary, Ethereum to maintain its bullish price trajectory, it must close above the $3,300 level. Key resistance levels to watch are at the psychological $3,500 mark, with short-term support levels at the $3,045 area.
Ibrahim Ajibade Ademolawa is a seasoned research analyst with a background in Commercial Banking and Web3 startups, specializing in DeFi and TradFi analysis. He holds a B.A. in Economics and is pursuing an MSc in Blockchain.