Ethereum’s price has been nearing the much-anticipated $4,000 mark, yet the rally seems to have hit a temporary halt.
Although the market has shown signs of saturation, Ethereum is far from finished with its upward movement. The recent consolidation is likely a short-term pause before another leg up.
Ethereum Is Showing Signs Of A Rally
Ethereum’s trading volume is sharply increasing, a signal that retail investors are showing renewed interest. While Ethereum’s price ratio to Bitcoin dropped by nearly 6% this week, the surge in trading volume mirrors a pattern seen in May earlier this year. Such a spike often precedes a local top, but this time it may be different.
Should both trading and social volume decrease for the rest of the week, this could indicate that the market is preparing for another bullish surge. The impatience and profit-taking behavior from retail investors may set the stage for the next upward wave.
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Looking at broader technical indicators, the NUPL (Net Unrealized Profit/Loss) suggests that Ethereum is poised for a significant rally. The NUPL indicator, when reaching a threshold of 0.5, historically has signaled a pause in the uptrend, followed by a sharp rally.
Ethereum is currently nearing this threshold, which, in the past, has marked the beginning of powerful upward price action. As the NUPL indicator continues to rise, it provides a strong historical precedent for Ethereum’s next price rally.
Ethereum is currently trading at $3,666, just 9% away from the critical $4,000 resistance that many investors have been waiting for over the past seven months. The altcoin is expected to continue its upward momentum despite the recent consolidation, with the potential to breach the $4,000 mark soon.
The continuation of the bullish trend is supported by strong market sentiment and technical indicators. As long as Ethereum remains above its key support levels, the price is likely to surge toward $4,000.
If Ethereum can maintain its momentum, a breach of $4,000 could act as a catalyst for further gains.
However, should unforeseen selling pressure arise, Ethereum’s price could slip below the $3,530 support level. In such a scenario, Ethereum may fall to $3,131, invalidating the current bullish outlook. The key will be maintaining support and capitalizing on the retail-driven surge.
Pi Coin is showing strong signs of recovery after breaking free from a two-month-long downtrend.
The altcoin is now benefiting from improving market sentiment, especially as signs of an approaching altcoin season grow stronger. This momentum could position Pi Coin for a major price surge.
Pi Coin Is Receiving Market Support
At the time of writing, Pi Coin’s Bollinger Bands are converging. This technical pattern typically signals incoming volatility, and the last similar event occurred in May. Back then, Pi Coin recorded a massive 114% price increase shortly after the bands widened. A repeat of this move would depend on the broader crypto market’s direction.
Currently, as Bitcoin consolidates and Ethereum leads altcoins upward, conditions favor another bullish breakout for Pi Coin. The tightening Bollinger Bands are hinting at imminent movement, and with sentiment leaning bullish, the next wave of volatility may well push Pi Coin higher once again.
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The macro indicators also align with a bullish forecast. The Chaikin Money Flow (CMF) is trending upward, indicating capital inflow into Pi Coin. This inflow suggests that investors are gaining confidence and could be positioning themselves ahead of a possible altcoin rally.
As money enters the ecosystem, Pi Coin benefits from renewed market participation and rising demand. These factors often precede price breakouts and are especially influential when combined with technical signals of volatility.
Pi Coin is currently trading at $0.47 after consolidating sideways for several days. This consolidation has worked in its favor, helping the altcoin escape its two-month downtrend. Investors are now watching closely for the next resistance to be broken.
Despite being only 15% from its all-time low of $0.40, the technical indicators suggest this support will hold. If Pi Coin can flip $0.45 into a reliable support level, it could initiate a rally toward $0.51 and beyond, especially if the altcoin season intensifies.
However, if holders begin to exit their positions prematurely, Pi Coin could slip back toward $0.40. Such a move would invalidate the bullish scenario and place the altcoin at risk of retesting its historical low.
The state of security across the crypto and blockchain space has changed significantly in the past few months. Traditional smart contracts exploited or brute force attacks on blockchain networks are being superseded by crypto scams like rug pulls and pump-and-dump schemes.
BeInCrypto spoke with a spokesperson from security firm CertiK to understand how blockchain and security threats are evolving and how projects and users can safeguard against future exploits.
Social Media Hacks on the Rise
Over the past few months, the crypto community has seen a rise in social media-related hacks. This increasingly common tendency has pivoted away from the orchestration of more sophisticated blockchain attacks that have traditionally plagued headlines.
Whereas smart contract exploits or blockchain hacks require more knowledge, hackers have found an easier avenue by targeting social media accounts instead.
X (formerly Twitter) has quickly become the social media platform of choice among Web3 hackers.
Social Media is Now a Prime Target for Web3 Hackers
After US President Donald Trump launched his meme coin only two days before assuming office, hackers began to take advantage of the hype to hack high-profile X accounts and convince followers to invest in scam meme coins.
Last month, anonymous hackers took over the X account of the former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to promote MALAYSIA, a fake meme coin promoted as the country’s official cryptocurrency.
The post was removed within an hour, but the damage was done. Analysis shows that these hackers were probably related to the infamous Russian Evil Corp and that they stole $1.7 million in this rug pull.
The MALAYSIA token scam happened only two weeks after hackers exploited former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s social media account. In that instance, scammers promoted the BRAZIL token, which rose over 10,000% in minutes, netting the scammers over $1.3 million.
These scams have also affected technological companies.
Attacks on Tech Companies
In December, AI research and development company Anthropic also saw its X account hacked. A fraudulent post claimed that a fake token called CLAUDE would incentivize AI and crypto projects and included a wallet address for investors.
Attackers managed to collect around $100,000 from speculative investors.
These situations also highlight a broader issue of weak account security on social media platforms. As a result, even prominent individuals are susceptible to security breaches that directly affect the crypto community.
TRUMP Meme Coin Launch Was a Catalyst For Crypto Scams
“Now is the time to talk about the fact that large-scale political coins cross a further line: they are not just sources of fun, whose harm is at most contained to mistakes made by voluntary participants, they are vehicles for unlimited political bribery, including from foreign nation states,” Buterin claimed.
Buterin highlighted the tokens’ role in enabling scams and political corruption in crypto and blamed a regulatory loophole former SEC Chair Gary Gensler created for allowing bad actors to exploit governance tokens.
However, these crypto scams extend beyond political themes.
Growth of Social Engineering Exploits
A week after Buterin cautioned against political meme coins, a Coinbase user lost $11.5 million after falling victim to a social engineering scam on Base.
Crypto sleuth ZackXBT uncovered the exploit, pointing out that this incident is part of a growing trend, with multiple Coinbase users suffering similar losses. He also estimates that crypto scams of this nature have drained at least $150 million from Coinbase customers.
“Coinbase has a serious fraud problem. I just uncovered many more recent thefts from Coinbase users. The $150 million stolen from Coinbase users in a year is just from thefts I independently confirmed. So it’s more than likely multiples of this number,” ZachXBT stated.
In social engineering scams, attackers use phishing emails, spoofed calls, and other deceptive tactics to trick victims into revealing private keys or login credentials. Once they gain access, they drain wallets, move funds, and take control of accounts.
For CertiK, these situations stipulate the need for stronger security measures.
Addressing these security challenges is crucial as new crypto projects increase exponentially.
Prioritizing Proactive Security in a Rapidly Growing Industry
The Web3 sector is experiencing consistent growth, marked by a surge in new crypto project launches. This innovative momentum is expected to continue, but it’s also fueling security concerns.
Notably, the increasing rate of scams and hacks in the first three months of 2025 makes it clear that security efforts are struggling to keep up with innovation.
A study by Precedence Research estimates the Web 3.0 market will expand from USD 4.62 billion in 2025 to approximately USD 99.75 billion by 2034, with a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 41.18% during that period.
Predicted market size of Web3 in the next ten years. Source: Precedence Research.
Yet, CertiK believes that project developers are pushing security considerations toward the end of the priority list.
As the Web3 ecosystem evolves, a proactive and adaptive security approach is critical. Prioritizing both blockchain integrity and social media vigilance will be essential for safeguarding the growing Web3 ecosystem.
The battle against these exploits requires a future where security is not an afterthought but a foundational pillar of every Web3 project and user interaction.
