Key takeaways
- Ether fell about 2% over the past 24 hours and is trading below $4,000.
- The bearish move followed Wednesday’s FOMC announcement.
Ether slips below $4,000 after FOMC news
Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, turned bearish after losing roughly 2% in the last 24 hours. The decline pushed Ether briefly toward the $3,800 area, and it is currently trading just under $4,000.
The selling pressure followed the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, where the Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points. Fed Chair Jerome Powell also indicated the central bank will begin quantitative tightening on December 1.
Quantitative tightening means the Fed will reduce the financial assets on its balance sheet by selling them into markets, which can lower asset prices and put upward pressure on interest rates. Given this, a further rate cut at the Fed’s next December FOMC meeting now appears unlikely.
Ethereum’s Fusaka upgrade, intended to improve scalability and security, successfully launched on the Hoodi testnet on Tuesday, the third and final testnet step before mainnet deployment. Despite the progress, the anticipated upgrade did not lift ETH’s price amid broader crypto market volatility.
ETH could rebound above $4,200 soon
The 4-hour ETH/USD chart remains bearish, reflecting the 2% drop over the past day. ETH is trading around $3,939 per coin but shows potential for a near-term rebound.
Technical indicators still favor the downside overall, yet several signals are pointing to a possible recovery after the recent dip. The RSI sits near 46, suggesting the bearish momentum is easing and bulls may try to push prices higher in the coming hours and days. MACD lines remain in negative territory after flashing a sell signal on Wednesday.
If the recovery gains traction, ETH could reclaim the $4,232 resistance level within the next several hours or days. A sustained rally could extend toward a 4-hour target near $4,409. Conversely, failure to climb above $4,200 could open the door for ETH to retest the $3,800 low in the near term.