Market context
Ethereum spent the last two weeks in an unusual place. Spot ETFs have not recorded a red day since August 11, per CryptoPotato, extending a streak that has now outlasted most of the summer's rallies. Bitcoin funds absorbed over $900M in the same window. And yet ETH itself trades at $2,459, roughly where it was when the streak began.
That's the tension. Institutional demand through the ETF wrapper is real and it is persistent. Spot price is not confirming. Blockchain.News pegged the current setup as overbought on RSI with MACD momentum flat, calling the next 48 hours a binary resolution above $2,489 or a flush toward the mid-$2,300s. The entity summary from Cryptomat's own feed puts psychological resistance at $2,500. Different framings, same wall.
The macro backdrop hasn't moved much. What has moved is the plumbing. Sberbank, Russia's largest lender, said Friday it plans to issue loans collateralised by BTC, ETH and USDT once Russia's new crypto rules take effect and regulators sign off on the assets. That's a structural demand story, not a trading catalyst, but it belongs in the frame.
Technical setup
The chart is doing something specific and readers should be clear about it. ETH pushed to $2,474 intraday, printed an RSI in overbought territory, and stopped. It hasn't rejected. It hasn't broken out. It has stalled.
DonAlt, the trader who called XRP's 2017 run and has since become one of the more disciplined chartists in the space, flagged ETH as 'the cleanest chart in crypto right now' on Friday, per U.Today. His read: $2,400 as the pivot. Hold it and the setup opens toward the previous swing high, roughly 30% above spot. Lose it and the structure breaks.