Ethereum fell under $1,700 on Friday, trading near $1,675 after breaking below the lows set in February. The move comes as the broader technical picture turns decisively bearish — ETH is now below all three major moving averages — and despite a continuing decline in exchange reserves, active buying demand remains absent.
Breaking the February floor
The $1,800–$1,850 zone had provided a floor for weeks. Losing it turned that level into resistance almost immediately. Volume picked up during the selloff, a sign that the drop wasn't just thin liquidity but real, sustained selling pressure. That kind of volume profile tends to keep the path of least resistance lower until buyers step in meaningfully.
Exchange reserves are shrinking — so what?
CryptoQuant data shows Ethereum's supply on centralized exchanges is still sliding, with no sudden deposit spikes. Normally a shrinking reserve is taken as a bullish signal — coins moving to cold storage, less available to sell. But in this market, the lack of demand is overriding that mechanic. As the data firm put it, exchange reserves are declining but it's not translating into a price recovery. The missing ingredient is active demand.
The technical picture clears up
ETH is trading below its 50-, 100-, and 200-day moving averages — a full bearish alignment. That doesn't guarantee further downside, but it does mean any bounce will face overhead resistance on the way up. The market's job now is to find equilibrium, and that takes time. CryptoQuant's read is that the market needs more time to let demand catch up with the shrinking supply side.
The key question going into next week is whether ETH can stabilize near current levels or if the selling has more room to run. So far, there's no signal that the pressure is letting up.
