Ethereum Holds $3,000 as Buterin Refocuses Network on Decentralization, Hayes Rotates $5.5M Into DeFi
Ethereum is trading above $3,000 on Friday, up 1.3% in the last 24 hours. This is because the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap is
Quick overview
- Ethereum is currently trading above $3,000, showing a 1.3% increase in the last 24 hours as it approaches a critical technical point.
- Co-founder Vitalik Buterin emphasizes the importance of building decentralized applications that can function independently of their original developers.
- BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has strategically rotated out of ETH into various DeFi protocols, indicating confidence in the market's long-term potential.
- The upcoming trading sessions will be crucial in determining whether Ethereum can maintain its position above $3,000 or face a decline towards the $2,700s.
Ethereum ETH/USD is trading above $3,000 on Friday, up 1.3% in the last 24 hours. This is because the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap is at a very important technical point. The little rise comes at a time when the network’s main goal is getting more attention. Co-founder Vitalik Buterin is pushing back against short-term market stories in favor of constructing infrastructure that will last and won’t be censored.
Buterin Challenges Ethereum to Fulfill “World Computer” Vision
Buterin sent a clear New Year’s address saying that Ethereum made a lot of technical progress in 2025, but he also said that the network still isn’t living up to its bigger goals. The co-founder said that trying to follow short-lived crypto trends, such tokenized dollars, political memecoins, or fake transaction pumping, was a bad idea. Instead, he called for applications that pass the “walkaway test,” which means they keep working even if their original developers leave.
Buterin’s comments became even more important after the Cloudflare outage in November, which affected key crypto companies like Coinbase, Blockchain.com, and BitMEX. He said that decentralized applications might fix problems with centralized infrastructure. He said that Ethereum has to give tools that work even if major service providers go down or have security problems. The message changes how people think about Ethereum, making it seem more like long-term internet infrastructure than a platform that reacts to market enthusiasm cycles.
BitMEX Co-Founder Executes Strategic DeFi Rotation From ETH
Buterin is more interested in the philosophical side of things, whereas well-known crypto player Arthur Hayes is making tactical bets in the Ethereum ecosystem. Over the course of two weeks, the co-founder of BitMEX sold 1,871 ETH, which was valued around $5.53 million. He then promptly put that money into four DeFi protocols that he thinks would do better when liquidity conditions improve.
Hayes bought 961,113 PENDLE tokens ($1.75 million) to obtain exposure to yield tokenization, 2.3 million LDO ($1.29 million) to target liquid staking infrastructure, 10.91 million ENA ($2.23 million) to get synthetic dollar mechanics, and 1.19 million ETHFI ($828,000) to get restaking prospects. The coordinated purchases show that people are confident in the market as a whole, not just trading for fun. Hayes has said publicly that these “high-quality DeFi names” are his best risk-adjusted chances, even though Ethereum is still the major infrastructure.
ETH/USD Technical Analysis: Key Decision Point Above $3,000
Ethereum has been stuck around the $3,017 daily resistance level for twelve days in a row since it found support at a broken descending trendline on December 19. The recent price movement implies that ETH is getting ready for its next rise, with the 50-day exponential moving average around $3,110 being the most important level for bulls.
If the price closes over $3,110, it will probably start to move toward the December 10 high of $3,447, which is almost 14% higher than where it is now. The MACD indicator recently made a bullish crossover that is still in place, which supports this scenario. However, the RSI is still close to the neutral 50 level, which shows that traders are still unsure.
Bears, on the other hand, are still in charge below important resistance. If ETH can’t go back above the 50-day EMA and loses the $3,000 psychological support level, it might drop below $2,749, where it will find more support. This level would be an 8.3% drop from current prices and could test how confident the market is right now.
Ethereum Price Outlook Balances Technical and Fundamental Catalysts
As technical consolidation, ecosystem repositioning, and smart money rotation all come together, Ethereum looks like it will have an eventful year in 2026. Hayes’ DeFi allocation shows that he believes Ethereum-based protocols will give better returns, but his willingness to lower his direct ETH exposure shows that he knows that value creation may happen more and more at the application layer instead of the underlying protocol.
Buterin’s focus on decentralization and real-world use over speculative stories could help Ethereum’s value grow over time if developers make apps that really set it apart from centralized competitors. But whether bulls can push ETH clearly over $3,110 and keep the momentum going through the end of the year when people take profits will probably determine what happens to the price in the near future.
Ethereum might reach $3,400 to $3,500 in the next few weeks if technical barrier falls and the overall crypto market stays positive. On the other hand, if ETH doesn’t stay above $3,000 during times of macroeconomic uncertainty or Bitcoin weakness, it could test the $2,700s again before finding solid ground. The next few trading sessions above or below the 50-day EMA will probably decide which of these two things happens as 2026 begins.
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