Ethereum price traded near $1,868 on Aug. 5 as it compressed below a descending trendline, while debate over EIP-8361 added a new variable to the market outlook.

Ethereum price struggles below $1,900

According to data from crypto.news, Ethereum (ETH) price was trading at $1,868 at the time of writing, little changed over the previous 24 hours. The price has repeatedly failed to hold above $1,900 since late July, leaving the psychological $2,000 level out of reach.

The daily chart shows ETH trading below its 20-day simple moving average at $1,887.53. The 100-day SMA at $1,918.22 creates another resistance level, while the 200-day SMA remains higher at $2,074.86.

That structure leaves Ethereum below three of its four major moving averages. ETH is still holding above the 50-day SMA at $1,788.07, however, preserving the recovery that began after the June sell-off near $1,500.

The Bull Bear Power indicator has slipped to minus 14.96. The negative reading suggests sellers retain a small advantage, although the indicator remains far above the deeply negative levels recorded during the June decline.

ETH approaches a descending-channel breakout

The 4-hour chart places Ethereum near the upper boundary of a descending channel that has guided price lower since the July 27 peak near $1,975.

The immediate breakout area sits between $1,875 and $1,885. A 4-hour close above the channel and the daily 20-day SMA would give buyers an opportunity to retest $1,900.

Momentum remains weak rather than decisively bearish. The Aroon Up reading stands at 14.29%, while Aroon Down is at 0%. Both readings being near the bottom of their range indicate that neither side has established a strong short-term trend.

Chaikin Money Flow is slightly negative at minus 0.02. That points to modest net selling pressure and shows that ETH has yet to attract the sustained capital inflows needed for a clean breakout.

Failure to clear the channel could send Ethereum back toward $1,850. Below that, the 50-day SMA around $1,788 and the psychological $1,800 level form the main support zone.

Liquidation levels could pull ETH toward $1,940

CoinGlass’ one-week liquidation heatmap shows several pools of leveraged positions above Ethereum’s current price.

Liquidity has accumulated around $1,890 to $1,905, with a much larger concentration near $1,940. These levels could act as short-term price magnets if ETH breaks above its descending trendline.

A move through $1,940 would open the way toward $1,975 and $2,000. However, the daily 100-day SMA at $1,918 must first be reclaimed for the bullish setup to gain credibility.

Liquidity is also visible below the market around $1,850, $1,820 and $1,800. A rejection below $1,900 could therefore trigger long liquidations and pull ETH toward the lower clusters before another recovery attempt.

Analyst Michaël van de Poppe identified $1,800 as the decisive support level. He expects a break above $2,000 to place $2,300 to $2,500 within reach.

“ETH holds a crucial support level at $1,800,” van de Poppe said. “A breakout to $2,000+ is simply on the horizon.”

EIP-8361 brings staking rewards into focus

The technical test comes as Ethereum developers debate EIP-8361, a draft proposal designed to taper consensus-layer issuance as the share of staked ETH increases.

The proposal would burn a progressively larger share of validator rewards. At a 50% staking ratio, all newly issued consensus rewards would be burned instead of paid to validators. Transaction fees and maximal extractable value would remain separate sources of validator income.

EIP-8361 is not a hard cap on how much ETH can be staked. Instead, it seeks to remove the issuance-based incentive to keep staking once the ratio approaches 50%. The proposal remains under discussion and has not been approved for a network upgrade. Six authors, including Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake, submitted the draft on Aug. 4.

The plan has divided members of the Ethereum ecosystem. Aave founder Stani Kulechov argued that developers should prioritize privacy and Ethereum’s role in the financial system instead of adjusting staking issuance.

Ted Pillows supported that view, writing:

“ETH should be focused on capturing more value and scaling the network. Build a valuable, scalable flywheel, not spend time talking about reducing staking fees.”

The proposal could support ETH’s long-term supply outlook by limiting new issuance, but it does not provide an immediate price catalyst. Its near-term effect remains largely tied to market expectations and the debate over validator incentives.

Can Ethereum reclaim $2,000?

Ethereum’s first bullish confirmation would be a 4-hour close above $1,885, followed by a daily move through the $1,918 to $1,940 resistance range.

Clearing those levels could trigger short liquidations and allow ETH to retest $1,975 and $2,000. A sustained break above $2,000 would then bring the 200-day SMA at $2,074 into focus.

The bearish scenario begins with another rejection below $1,900. Losing $1,850 would expose $1,820 and $1,800, while a daily close below the 50-day SMA at $1,788 would weaken the broader recovery structure.

For US investors, Ethereum’s ability to reclaim $2,000 will depend more on spot demand, broader risk appetite and institutional flows than on EIP-8361 alone. The proposal may shape ETH’s longer-term issuance policy, but price must first escape its short-term descending channel.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States continued drawing attention from investors, posting net inflows of $211.5 million on Tuesday, after $170 million of inflows the prior day, according to SoSoValue data. The renewed demand comes as a high-profile Coldcard hardware wallet incident is prompting fresh debate over how safely digital assets are protected—especially in comparison with regulated, institutional custody.

The inflow rebound also aligns with early reassessment of the potential impact of the Coldcard hack. Galaxy Research has estimated the incident could have affected up to 7,300 addresses and may have led to roughly $130 million in suspected Bitcoin losses for users of the hardware wallet, based on its own analysis shared on social media.

Key takeaways

• SoSoValue reports spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in $170 million on Monday and $211.5 million on Tuesday, signaling a return of daily demand.
• BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) led the recovery with $111 million in inflows on Monday and $170 million on Tuesday, per Farside Investors data.
• Galaxy Research estimates the Coldcard incident may have impacted as many as 7,300 addresses, with suspected losses around $130 million.
• Bloomberg Intelligence’s Eric Balchunas said the custody narrative could shift as investors compare institutional safeguards with smaller crypto players.
• Bitcoin was broadly stable as traders weighed custody concerns alongside other selling pressure, including a reported 1,638 BTC sale by Strategy.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs rebound as capital returns

ETF flows suggest demand is not confined to a single fund—though the largest products remain the main drivers. Farside Investors data shows IBIT led Monday and Tuesday inflows, contributing $111 million on Monday and $170 million on Tuesday.

Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) followed with approximately $33 million in inflows on Monday and around $20 million on Tuesday. Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO) recorded $6.7 million in inflows on Monday—its first positive daily flow since July 1—according to Farside.

For investors, the timing matters. Coldcard-related headlines are reintroducing risk questions that many ETF investors previously treated as settled through regulated custody frameworks. When inflows rise during a period of heightened security discourse, it can be interpreted as a renewed preference for products where asset protection is managed within established financial systems.

Galaxy Research keeps the Coldcard impact in focus

Galaxy Research has been one of the most prominent groups tracking the Coldcard incident, with estimates that attempt to quantify both exposure and potential losses. In posts shared by Galaxy Research personnel, including firmwide research head Alex Thorn, the analysis has highlighted possible affected addresses and the scale of suspected stolen funds linked to users of the device.

While the figure of “up to 7,300 addresses” and roughly “$130 million” in suspected losses are estimates rather than confirmed outcomes for every impacted user, the essential point is that the hack underscores the operational risks that come with self-custody—particularly for hardware wallet users who expect their security model to hold under real-world conditions.

The ETF market’s ability to absorb investor worry depends on how quickly investors can translate those risks into a decision. Tuesday’s strong inflow data suggests many were willing to do exactly that, at least in the short term.

Custody debate: when “institutional” starts to look like a feature

Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst Eric Balchunas argued that the Coldcard hack could push some investors toward Bitcoin ETFs by changing how custody is perceived. In a Tuesday post on X, Balchunas framed traditional custodial responsibility as increasingly attractive—suggesting that what some in crypto culture once dismissed as a “bug” (reliance on legacy financial institutions) may appear like a “feature” once investors compare those systems to the realities of security failures elsewhere.

Balchunas also pointed to additional ETF-market shifts that are affecting investor expectations around the product landscape, including the closure of Hashdex’s spot Bitcoin ETF and a planned reverse split for BlackRock’s Ethereum ETF, according to related reporting and a regulatory filing referenced in the original discussion.

For market participants, these changes matter because product availability and investor access can influence where flows ultimately land. Even if the Coldcard incident is the immediate catalyst for attention, the broader structure of the ETF market—what exists, what’s closed, and what changes operationally—affects whether risk-off moves translate into reduced exposure or reallocations within the ETF suite.

Bitcoin price holds steady as traders weigh selling pressure

Bitcoin remained relatively stable as traders processed both the Coldcard incident and other potential sources of pressure. At the time of publication, BTC traded around $64,113, down about 0.8% over the prior seven days, according to CoinGecko, with the period’s low falling below $62,500.

Alongside custody headlines, observers also cited additional selling activity, including a reported 1,638 BTC sale by Michael Saylor’s Strategy. That adds another layer to how traders may interpret ETF inflows: if ETFs are attracting new capital while other wallets are still moving coins, price stabilization can occur even without immediate net buying pressure overwhelming other flows.

Not all analysis has treated the Coldcard-related movement risk as negligible. Some commentators argued that moving or converting stolen funds could be more difficult because blockchain transactions are publicly visible. In an X post, commentator Shagun suggested that large transfers would likely draw scrutiny from blockchain researchers, exchanges, and other market actors.

What to watch next

Investors will likely keep an eye on whether spot Bitcoin ETF inflows persist beyond the current rebound and whether any further incident-related assessments clarify the true extent of the Coldcard exposure. Separately, traders may watch on-chain behavior for signs of how any stolen funds move—because the custody story may change again depending on whether attackers can liquidate quickly or face increased friction.

And innovators are applying technology to problems that public health and health care have struggled to solve at scale. While it is too early to call them success stories, they are steps in the right direction. This month, the Coalition for Health AI launched PULSE, bringing public health agencies at state, tribal, local, and territorial levels together with technology companies to test responsible use cases of generative AI ranging from biosurveillance to multilingual communication. OpenAI and Anthropic are providing access to their technology, and lessons from participating health departments will be shared so others can build on what works. Akido is using AI to help street medicine teams care for hard-to-reach populations, using technology to increase the number of patients each clinician can see while maintaining strong retention in care and addressing public health concerns such as substance use. Jimini Health is using technology-enabled AI models made for mental health to extend care between visits, engaging patients between sessions while giving clinicians visibility into progress and allowing clinicians to prioritize what the models work on with patients.

Increasing network activity is often said to support valuations for the network’s native coin, bitcoin BTC$64,017.36. So far, the token has neither rallied nor dropped significantly and remains boxed in the recent range of $62,000–$65,000.

Analysts continue to point to the fate of the Clarity Act as the immediate catalyst while citing longer-duration government bond yields as a more macro and longer-lasting one.

“CLARITY is still the immediate policy binary. The Senate has a three-day window before its August 10 recess, while the implied probability of passage by year end has fallen to 23% from around 75% in mid-May. A push to attach prediction-market restrictions adds another process risk,” analysts at Marex said.

Meanwhile, Bitfinex said the bullish macro case for bitcoin could collapse if the real or inflation-adjusted yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note tops 2.5%.

“The 10-year real yield has not stayed above 2.5% since before Bitcoin existed, so there is no price history above that line. It is now at 2.41%, nine basis points below,” the exchange said.

Stay alert!

Read more: For analysis of today’s activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today . For a comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead.”

Key takeaways

• Ethereum traded sideways as mixed on-chain activity reflected uncertainty among investors.
• Whale wallets holding 10,000–100,000 ETH accumulated a net 130,000 ETH over the past week.
• Smaller wallet cohorts collectively reduced their holdings by approximately 360,000 ETH.

Ethereum (ETH) continued trading sideways on Tuesday as whale accumulation was offset by selling among smaller wallet cohorts and subdued institutional demand.

On-chain indicators reflect mixed sentiment, with larger investors returning to accumulation while other holders reduce their exposure near break-even prices.

Ethereum whales accumulate 130,000 ETH

Wallets holding between 10,000 and 100,000 ETH added a net 130,000 ETH over the past week. The increase marked the cohort’s first significant inflow in almost three weeks.

The renewed whale accumulation suggests that some large investors view Ethereum’s current price range as an opportunity to increase their holdings.

However, selling among smaller investors outweighed those purchases, limiting ETH’s ability to establish a clear upward trend.

Wallets holding between 1,000 and 10,000 ETH reduced their combined balance by approximately 230,000 ETH after remaining relatively stable during the previous two weeks.

Investors holding between 100 and 1,000 ETH also sold roughly 130,000 ETH. This cohort has steadily reduced its Ethereum holdings throughout the year.

Together, the two groups recorded net outflows of approximately 360,000 ETH over the past week—nearly three times the amount accumulated by whale wallets.

Ethereum’s Spent Output Profit Ratio hovered between 0.98 and 1.01 during the past week.

SOPR measures whether recently transferred assets were moved at a profit or loss. A reading near one indicates that most investors sold close to their acquisition price.

The data suggests that many holders may be exiting Ethereum positions once prices return to break-even levels rather than waiting for a sustained recovery.

Ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and the Federal Reserve’s moderately hawkish position may be contributing to the cautious sentiment across financial markets.

Ethereum’s Exchange Netflow remains negative, meaning more ETH is still leaving exchanges than entering them. However, the indicator has risen from approximately -34,000 ETH to -4,000 ETH since mid-July.

Negative exchange flows are typically viewed as constructive because withdrawals reduce the amount of ETH immediately available for sale. The movement toward zero suggests that this bullish spot-market pressure is weakening, although only gradually.

The slowdown comes amid reports that the wider cryptocurrency market is experiencing some of its lowest trading volumes since November 2023. Weak activity indicates that investors remain reluctant to take a strong directional position.

Net Realized Losses also increased on Monday, suggesting that most ETH moved at the start of the week was transferred at a loss.ins Weak

Institutional demand for Ethereum remains subdued. US spot ETH exchange-traded funds attracted $27.42 million in net inflows last week.

However, the products returned to negative territory on Monday, recording combined net outflows of $11.42 million.

The reversal highlights inconsistent institutional demand and provides limited support for a sustained ETH price recovery.

Ethereum trapped between key moving averages

Ethereum recorded $17.77 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, including $11.77 million in short positions.

On the daily chart, ETH remains trapped between the 50-day Exponential Moving Average at $1,851 and the 20-day EMA at $1,869. This narrow range reinforces the neutral short-term outlook.

The 100-day EMA at $1,931 and a previously broken ascending trend line near $1,948 present additional resistance.

The Relative Strength Index stands near 51, reflecting balanced momentum between buyers and sellers. Meanwhile, the Stochastic oscillator near 29 suggests momentum is stabilizing following the recent pullback rather than developing a decisive trend.

A daily close above the 20-day EMA at $1,869 could allow ETH to challenge the 100-day EMA at $1,931 and the former trend-line support near $1,948.

Further buying pressure could bring resistance at $1,961 into focus. A sustained breakout above this area would expose higher targets at $2,172 and $2,431.

On the downside, immediate support lies at the 50-day EMA of $1,851, followed by the horizontal level at $1,809.

A decisive break below $1,809 would weaken the neutral structure and could send ETH toward $1,701. More substantial selling pressure could expose the deeper support level at $1,507.