Ethereum (ETH) is down almost 10% on February 25. This drop has pushed its market cap below $300 billion, marking the first time it has fallen to this level since early November 2024.

Multiple indicators, including RSI and moving averages, show bearish momentum. As ETH navigates this downturn, market watchers are looking for signs of either a continued decline or a potential reversal.

RSI Shows an Oversold State for Ethereum

ETH’s RSI is currently at 29 after dropping to 21.3 a few hours ago. This marks the first time since February 3 that ETH has entered oversold territory, indicating intense selling pressure.

RSI measures the speed and change of price movements, helping traders identify overbought or oversold conditions. An RSI below 30 typically signals that an asset is oversold, while above 70 suggests it is overbought.

With ETH’s RSI at 29, it indicates that selling momentum may be exhausted, potentially setting the stage for a short-term rebound. However, oversold conditions do not always guarantee an immediate price recovery.

If bearish sentiment persists, ETH could continue to face downward pressure before any significant reversal occurs. Conversely, if buyers step in at these oversold levels, a relief rally could follow.

ETH Whales Dropped After Reaching Its Highest Levels In One Year

The number of ETH whales – addresses holding at least 1,000 ETH – steadily increased throughout the last month, peaking at 5,828 on February 22, the highest level since February 2024. However, this upward trend has recently reversed, with the number now slightly declining to 5,812.

This shift suggests that some large holders have started to reduce their positions, potentially contributing to the recent selling pressure on ETH.

Tracking ETH whales is crucial because they control a significant portion of the total supply, influencing price movements with their buying and selling activities. When the number of whales increases, it often indicates accumulation, which can support price stability or even drive a rally. Conversely, a decrease suggests distribution, potentially leading to increased selling pressure.

The recent decline in ETH whale numbers could indicate cautious sentiment, possibly signaling short-term weakness.

However, the overall number remains relatively high, suggesting that while some whales are offloading, a substantial number still hold their positions, which could help cushion any sharp declines.

Ethereum Could Drop Below $2,200 Soon

Ethereum price recently formed a death cross, where the short-term moving average crossed below the long-term moving average, signaling a bearish trend.

Following this pattern, Ethereum’s price dropped below $2,500, reflecting increased selling pressure. If this downtrend continues, ETH could decline further to $2,159, falling below $2,200 for the first time since December 2023. This death cross indicates that bearish momentum is dominating, and caution is warranted as downward pressure could persist.

However, if Ethereum manages to reverse this trend, it could attempt to break through the resistance at $2,551. Successfully overcoming this level could pave the way for a rally toward $2,850.

For this reversal to occur, buying pressure would need to increase, pushing the short-term moving average back above the long-term one. Until that happens, the death cross suggests that the bearish sentiment remains strong.

A new report from Taraxa claims that many leading blockchain projects have dramatically overestimated their throughput. The study shows that major blockchain networks like Sonic, Solana, and Aptos have a significant gap between theoretical TPS (transaction per second) and the actual max TPS on the mainnet.

The findings suggest a massive overestimation of network efficiency and speed for these networks.

Most Blockchains Overestimate Efficiency

Taraxa, a Layer-1 blockchain, conducted an extensive analysis of several leading blockchains. It’s evident that most networks publicize new advances in their blockchain’s throughput, but many of these tests are conducted in ideal conditions. This study wished to observe how the most ‘bullish’ claims compare to regular operating conditions.

“Investors, developers, and users deserve transparency. The blockchain industry has long been obsessed with theoretical performance figures, but numbers generated in a lab mean little if they can’t be replicated in real-world conditions,” Taraxa co-founder Steven Pu said in an exclusive press release shared with BeInCrypto.

This investigation sought to assess these real-world conditions through a metric called “TPS per dollar.” Taraxa compared a blockchain’s transactions per second to the actual cost of running a validator node and used that to determine actual throughput.

This would be a more accurate way to determine how well these firms can live up to expectations.

Case in point, the study looked at the highest-ever recorded throughput on several blockchain projects, with a few important caveats. Permissioned and sharded networks were excluded, and some specific transactions (like voting transactions) were discarded to avoid number inflation.

Then, these figures were compared to developer-provided TPS claims:

The results of this test revealed extremely high exaggeration. Sonic (formerly Fantom) reported blockchain throughput over 100x its actual capabilities, but the industry average was 20x. The L1 blockchain space is full of fierce competition, providing a clear incentive for this systematic inflation.

“Our research also shows that many networks require expensive hardware just to achieve modest transaction rates, which is neither technically impressive nor decentralized. By focusing on verifiable data from live networks, we can shift the conversation toward meaningful performance metrics,” Pu added.

Comparing TPS to dollar costs also provided interesting data. Solana had the highest costs by far, but it used these resources efficiently to maintain a high blockchain throughput. Taraxa also claimed that it had the best ratio in the entire industry by wide margins, which may impact its reasons for conducting the study and using this metric.

Regardless of the firm’s desire to market its own capabilities, blockchain throughput estimations seem heavily inflated across the whole industry. Taraxa has been analyzing several crucial Web3 sectors, such as the AI industry, and its results seem valuable.

Hopefully, some hard data here will encourage more realistic reporting from these projects.

The crypto market continues its downward trend today, with bearish pressure overpowering bullish efforts. 

Amid this decline, some altcoins have emerged as the most searched assets, continuing to attract investors’ attention.  They include Vana (VANA), Sonic (S), and Official Trump (TRUMP).

Vana (VANA)

VANA has bucked the broader market downtrend, noting a 46% uptick over the past 24 hours. This double-digit rally comes as YZi Labs (formerly Binance Labs) announced an undisclosed investment in Vana, a crypto-AI startup focused on data ownership.

The firm confirmed that Binance co-founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao—who recently took on an active role at YZi Labs following its rebrand—has joined Vana as an advisor as part of the deal.

At press time, VANA trades at $8.78. Over the past 24 hours, its trading volume has totaled $639 million, surging by over 2,800% during that period. This significant hike in VANA’s trading volume indicates that its current rally is driven by demand for the altcoin.

If the rally continues, VANA’s price could reach $10.77.

On the other hand, a rise in profit-taking activity could result in a decline to $7.77.

Sonic (prev. FTM) (S)

Sonic’s S is another altcoin trending today. Its price is down 17%, mirroring the general market decline of the past 24 hours. 

S’ plummeting buying pressure also contributes to this price fall. Its declining on-balance volume (OBV) confirms this. This indicator measures an asset’s cumulative trading volume to gauge its buying and selling pressure. 

When it falls, it suggests that selling pressure outweighs buying pressure, potentially signaling further price weakness or a bearish trend. If selloffs continue to strengthen, S’ price could fall to $0.59.

However, a bullish shift in market trend would invalidate this bearish projection. If S demand soars, it could push its price to $0.76. A successful breach of this resistance could create a path for the altcoin to trade above the $0.90 price level.

Official Trump (TRUMP)

Solana-based meme coin TRUMP is one of the most searched altcoins today. It exchanges hands at $12.78, plunging 14% in the past 24 hours. Having lost 55% of its value over the past month, readings from TRUMP’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) suggest that it might be poised for a rebound.

At press time, this momentum indicator, which measures an asset’s oversold and overbought market conditions, is at 27.72.

When an asset’s RSI falls to this low, it indicates that it is in oversold territory. If buyers step in, this could mean a potential price rebound, but it may also signal continued weakness if bearish momentum persists.

If buyers flock in to buy TRUMP, they could trigger a rebound and push its price up toward $18.07.

On the other hand, if the decline persists, the meme coin’s price could fall below $12.