A new report suggests that a long-awaited upgrade to the Ethereum network, which could slash its energy consumption by 99%, has been further delayed once more. It is reported that Ethereum uses 23 terawatt-hours of electricity annually, which is only slightly less than a country of 18 million people, Ecuador. This report capped further gains in ETH/USD on Wednesday. Meanwhile, an Ethereum-based transaction mixing protocol, Tornado Cash, announced the launch of an upgraded pool on Wednesday, Nova. The Nova pool will allow for the use of shielded transfers of token deposits without the need to withdraw from the pool itself. The new functionalities also include depositing and withdrawing arbitrary amounts of ETH. This news also added to the rising prices of ETH/USD.

Furthermore, a Twitter user highlighted that the Beacon chain contract claims to be the largest Ethereum contract, with billions of dollars’ worth of ETH trapped inside it. He said that the single largest ETH contract, containing 8,641,954 ETH tokens worth about $33.5 billion, was sitting idle because it could not be spent or sent as a new hard fork was required for it, which has not been written or specified yet. However, the timing and terms of the hard fork were still unknown, and this news weighed on ETH/USD, capping its further gains on Wednesday.

The weakening of the US dollar also contributed to the rise in ETH/USD prices on Wednesday. The DXY, which measures the greenback’s value against a basket of six major currencies, fell to 96.51 level after the release of the FOMC statement. The Fed revealed its intention to increase the pace of bond tapering by 50% from January 2022. This news initially added pressure on the USD as the market had already taken profit of this, and the rising prices of stocks added negative pressure on the US dollar, which added strength to the Ethereum token as both have a negative correlation.

Above the $3,800 and $3,850 resistance levels, Ethereum began a steady comeback wave. Following a closing above $3,850, ETH was able to pick up speed. The bulls drive the price over the crucial slide’s 50% Fib retracement level from the $4,175 swing high to the $3,666 low. Furthermore, on the hourly chart of ETH/USD, there was a break above a crucial negative trend line with resistance above $3,840.

The price of ether has risen above $4,000 and the 100 hourly SMA. It approached the $4,050 resistance level. The indicated resistance level is close to the 76.4 percent Fib retracement level of the main slide from the $4,175 swing high to the $3,666 low.

The main support level is presently building near $3,920 and the 100 days SMA (simple moving average). In case of a clear break below the $3,920 support, the price may continue to fall. The next significant support level is $3,880, below which the bears are expected to target $3,750.