The leading altcoin ETH has bucked the broader market downturn over the past 24 hours, posting modest gains of around 1%. At press time, the coin trades at $1,842.
This comes as a key momentum metric — the taker buy-sell ratio—surges to its highest level in 30 days, signaling renewed bullish pressure in the asset’s futures market.
Traders Eye ETH Upside as Buy Pressure and Build
According to CryptoQuant, ETH’s taker-buy-sell ratio is currently at 1.08, marking its highest value since early April.
This metric measures the ratio between the buy and sell volumes in ETH’s futures market. A value above 1 suggests that more traders are aggressively buying ETH contracts than selling, while values below 1 indicate dominant sell pressure.
At 1.08, ETH’s taker buy-sell ratio clearly tilts in favor of buyers, reflecting increasing confidence among traders that prices may continue rising.
Moreover, the altcoin’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) continues to trend upward, supporting this bullish narrative. At press time, it is at 58.39 and climbing.
The RSI indicator measures an asset’s overbought and oversold market conditions. It ranges between 0 and 100, with values above 70 indicating that the asset is overbought and due for a decline. Conversely, values under 30 signal that the asset is oversold and could witness a rebound.
ETH’s RSI reading confirms the strengthening bullish bias toward the altcoin, reinforcing the view that it could be primed for further upside.
ETH Builds Strength Above Short-Term Support
At its current price, ETH rests above its 20-day exponential moving average (EMA), which forms dynamic support below its price at $1,770.
The 20-day EMA measures an asset’s average price over the past 20 trading days, giving weight to recent prices. When an asset trades above this key moving average, it signals short-term bullish momentum. This indicates that recent prices are trending higher than the average over the past 20 days. Traders often view this as a sign of underlying strength or an early uptrend.
Therefore, ETH could maintain its rally toward $2,027 if buying pressure gains momentum.
Welcome to the US Morning Crypto News Briefing—your essential rundown of the most important developments in crypto for the day ahead.
Grab a coffee to see what experts have to say about Bitcoin’s (BTC) price outlook. Key investment strategies are driving the next directional bias for the pioneer crypto.
Is a $90,000 Breakout Imminent for Bitcoin?
Crypto markets continue to reel from Trump-infused volatility, which weighs heavily on investor sentiment. Traders and investors are bracing for macroeconomic headwinds that continue to temper modest gains.
However, despite the concerns, analysts are still optimistic, citing key investment or trading strategies. BeInCrypto contacted Blockhead Research Network (BRN) analyst Valentin Fournier, who alluded to the Wyckoff price cycle.
“Our base case remains an accumulation phase, with occasional dips likely before Bitcoin can make a clean break above the $89,000–$90,000 resistance,” Fournier told BeInCrypto.
The Wyckoff Price Cycle, developed by Richard Wyckoff, is a technical analysis framework to identify market trends and trading opportunities. It consists of four phases:
Accumulation: Where smart money buys at low prices, often marked by a “spring” (a false breakdown).
Markup: A bullish phase with rising prices.
Distribution: Where smart money sells at highs, also featuring a “spring” (false breakout).
Markdown: A bearish phase with declining prices.
Fournier added that because Bitcoin dominance continues to rise, this suggests altcoins could continue underperforming in the short term.
He also noted that, in contrast to Bitcoin’s strength, trade tensions have affected traditional markets more.
“This is highlighted by Nvidia’s decline following new export restrictions on chips to China,” he said.
What Does Options Data Say?
If the accumulation phase thesis is true, it aligns with a recent analysis by Deribit’s Tony Stewart, highlighting trader sentiment favoring the upside.
The bullish cohort is buying $90,000 to $100,000 Calls, suggesting bets on a price rise for Bitcoin. However, others are bearish, buying $80,000 Puts and selling $100,000+ Calls, indicating they expect a decline or hedging.
Likewise, funding strategies reveal bullish traders are rolling up positions from $84,000 to $90,000 Calls and selling lower Puts ($75,000) to finance their bets. This indicates confidence in a near-term rally.
Traders analyze these repeating phases’ price action, volume, and market structure. Based on that, they can spot reversals and time entries or exits while understanding institutional behavior.
The crypto market’s volatility has left altcoins in limbo, uncertain about potential gains or losses, and heavily reliant on external factors. These influences could determine whether a recovery rally occurs.
BeInCrypto has analyzed three key altcoins for investors to watch in the third week of March and what direction they could take.
Solana (SOL)
Solana’s price is currently at $129, positioning itself for a potential bullish breakout. On March 17, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) will launch SOL Futures, a significant event for the altcoin. As CME is one of the largest derivatives exchanges globally, this could drive substantial institutional inflows into Solana.
This development could inject bullish momentum into SOL, pushing the altcoin higher. The critical resistance level to watch is $161, which would require a 24% price surge. However, for this rally to materialize, SOL must first breach the $135 and $148 resistance levels, paving the way for continued gains.
If Solana fails to break through either $135 or $148, its price could retrace. A drop below these levels could send SOL back to $126 or lower to $118. This scenario would invalidate the bullish outlook, delaying any potential recovery and exposing the altcoin to further downside risk.
Mantle (MNT)
MNT price has surged 25% over the past week as anticipation builds for Mantle’s upcoming network upgrade. On March 19, the Mantle Network Mainnet will undergo a hard fork upgrade, activating EigenDA and ensuring compatibility with Ethereum’s future Pectra upgrade. This event is driving strong bullish sentiment for MNT.
In response to the upgrade, MNT is expected to see further gains, potentially reaching $1.00. Currently trading at $0.83, the altcoin needs to breach the $0.87 and $0.94 resistance levels to sustain its rally. A successful breakout above these levels could confirm the bullish trend.
However, failure to surpass $0.87 could keep MNT stuck in consolidation. If the altcoin loses support at $0.79, it risks falling further to $0.71. A drop to this level would invalidate the bullish outlook and shift market sentiment toward a bearish trend.
BNB
Another altcoin to watch in March, BNB’s price surged 19.5% this week, reaching $635 at the time of writing. The altcoin successfully broke through the key resistance block between $587 and $619. With bullish momentum building, BNB appears poised for further gains, provided market conditions remain favorable in the coming days.
One major catalyst is the upcoming Pascal hard fork on March 20. The upgrade will introduce EIP-7702 smart contract wallets, enhanced Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility, and improved developer flexibility. These enhancements could drive investor confidence, pushing BNB above $647 and potentially toward the $686 mark.
However, if the anticipated rally fails to gain traction, BNB could retreat to $619. Losing this support level may trigger further declines, sending the altcoin back through the resistance block and potentially testing the $550 support level, which would invalidate the bullish outlook.
