Ethereum price analysis: ETH/USD not ready for a move above $140.00

Muir Glacier reduced an average block time.
ETH/USD regained ground but failed to move above $140.00.

Ethereum, the second-largest digital asset with the current market value of $15.2 billion, hit the intraday high at $139.77. By press time, the coin retreated to $139.10, though it is still 2% higher from this time on Sunday, and 2.7% higher from the beginning of the day. Ethereum is moving ins sync with the market as the whole block of major cryptocurrencies has been recovering amid growing tensions on the global markets.

Muir Glacier has its toll

Ethereum developers rolled out Muir Glacier hard fork on Ethereum blockchain to delay the difficulty bomb by another 4 million blocks. As the mining difficulty decreased, the average time required to discover a block, dropped by almost 25% after the update. According to the data, provided by Etherscan, the block time decreased from 17.16 seconds on January 1 to 12.96 on January 4. As a result, miners were able to discover more blocks: the daily output of new ETH blocks increased by 32%, while miners remunerations. increased by over 31% after the update.

ETH/USD: technical picture

From the longer-term perspective, we will need to see a sustainable move above $140.00 for the upside to gain traction. The next resistance is created by SMA50 (Simple Moving Average) daily on approach to $142.00. If it is cleared, psychological $150.00 will come into focus. Notably, the last time ETH/USD traded above SMA50 daily in the middle of November, which makes it all the more important for the long-term outlook. The next barrier comes at $153.00, which is the highest level of December 2019.

On the downside, local support is created by the upper line of the daily Bollinger Band at $137.80. The price may retreat to this area within the technical correction. However, once it is cleared, the downside is likely to gain traction with the next focus on $133.00. This support is created by a confluence of SMA5 daily and SMA100 1-hour. The critical barrier awaits us on approach to $130.00, reinforced by the middle line of the daily Bollinger Band. If it is broken, the sell-off will intensify and the upside momentum will be negated.

ETH/USD daily chart

Share: Cryptos feed

Note: All information on this page is subject to change. The use of this website constitutes acceptance of our user agreement. Please read our privacy policy and legal disclaimer. Opinions expressed at FXstreet.com are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the opinion of FXstreet.com or its management. Risk Disclosure: Trading foreign exchange on margin carries a high level of risk, and may not be suitable for all investors. The high degree of leverage can work against you as well as for you. Before deciding to invest in foreign exchange you should carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. The possibility exists that you could sustain a loss of some or all of your initial investment and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with foreign exchange trading, and seek advice from an independent financial advisor if you have any doubts.