Daily Crypto Signals: Ethereum Tests $3,000, XRP Flashes Bearish Signal
Ethereum closed below the critical $3,000 threshold on Tuesday despite significant whale accumulation totaling over $130 million, while
Quick overview
- Ethereum closed below $3,000 despite over $130 million in whale accumulation, indicating potential bearish trends.
- XRP's on-chain structure resembles a previous setup that led to a significant price drop, raising concerns about its current support levels.
- Mike Novogratz's Galaxy is launching a hedge fund aimed at profiting in both rising and falling markets, signaling a shift in investment strategies.
- Calls for a swift passage of a crypto market structure bill highlight the need for regulatory clarity, though compromises may be necessary for approval.
Ethereum ETH/USD closed below the critical $3,000 threshold on Tuesday despite significant whale accumulation totaling over $130 million, while technical indicators suggest a potential decline to $2,700. Meanwhile, XRP’s XRP/USD onchain structure mirrors the February 2022 setup that preceded a 68% price drop, with spot ETF outflows of $53 million adding to bearish pressure as the token struggles to reclaim the psychological $2 support level.
Crypto Market Developments
This week, the cryptocurrency market became more cautious as big altcoins exhibited symptoms of weakness even though institutions were interested. Mike Novogratz is in charge of Galaxy, which is getting ready to launch a $100 million hedge fund in the first quarter. The fund will make money whether crypto values go up or down, and up to 30% of the money will go straight into digital assets. The move shows a change in strategy, as fund chief Joe Armao said that “the ‘up only’ part of this cycle is potentially coming to an end.”
Patrick Witt, executive director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets, stressed that a crypto market structure bill needs to pass swiftly. He said, “There will be a crypto market structure bill; it’s a question of when, not if.” However, he admitted that compromises will be needed to get the 60 Senate votes needed for approval, since some industry giants, including Coinbase, have raised concerns about parts of the bill that they think are too strict on stablecoins and decentralized protocols.
Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of Alameda Research, will be released from federal detention on Wednesday after completing 440 days of a two-year sentence. Ellison, who testified against former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, could have been released early since she had good behavior credits. She spent her last months in custody at a reentry facility in New York City.
Ethereum Faces Downside Pressure Despite Whale Accumulation
Ethereum had its biggest daily decrease since November 4, 2025, when it fell 7.83% to $2,938 on Tuesday and closed below the important $3,000 mark. Even though prices were going down, institutional investors and whales bought over $130 million worth of ETH. Trend Research borrowed 70 million USDT from Aave to buy 24,555 ETH, which is worth $75.5 million. An OTC whale bought 20,000 ETH, which is worth $58.8 million. BitMine additionally added 92,511 ETH in January, which was worth $268 million. Once completely deployed, the company expects to make $367 million to $393 million in annual staking payouts.
From a technical point of view, ETH’s closure below $3,000 brought the price below the four-month point of control near $3,100, which is a hint of a bearish break of structure. Current liquidity clusters suggest that the prices of $2,718 and $2,620 may be tested. In the last 24 hours, $287 million in leveraged positions were closed, with longs making up $257 million of that. Hyblock data shows that the whale versus retail delta went down to -6,480, which means that whales are cutting back on long exposure more quickly than retail traders. This is a pattern that has happened before when volatility rose.
XRP Mirrors 2022 Bearish Pattern Ahead of Potential Major Decline
The way XRP’s on-chain market is set up right now is very similar to how it was set up in February 2022, just before the price dropped by 68%. Glassnode says that new investors are now buying below the cost basis of mid-term holders. This is putting pressure on the market because recent buyers are making money while holders who have been holding for six to twelve months are losing money. When this pattern started in February 2022, XRP was worth $0.78. By June, it had dropped to $0.30. If history repeats itself, XRP might drop to $1.40 if the important support level between $1.80 and $2 doesn’t hold.
Since early 2025, every time the price has tested the $2 barrier, it has caused $500 million to $1.2 billion in weekly losses. Bears have taken charge again as XRP broke below the 50-day simple moving average at $2. The possibility of going down goes all the way to $1.25 or even $1.03 around the 200-week moving average. Adding to the pessimistic mood, spot XRP ETFs saw their second day of withdrawals on Tuesday, totaling $53 million—the most since launch and an indication that institutional investors are being careful because the market is sluggish overall.
- Check out our free forex signals
- Follow the top economic events on FX Leaders economic calendar
- Trade better, discover more Forex Trading Strategies
- Open a FREE Trading Account
Save