Data shows the Ethereum Open Interest has shot up by more than 4% following 
the sharp move down in the cryptocurrency&#8217;s price. Ethereum Has Seen A 
Pullback Over The Past Day The cryptocurrency sector as a whole has witnessed 
a plunge to kick off the new month, with Bitcoin and Ethereum both being down 
by more than 5% over the last 24 hours. ETH is back in the low $2,800 levels, 
having essentially retraced the recovery that it had made during the last week 
of November. Related Reading: Newbie Bitcoin Whales Capitulating, But Old 
Hands Stay Silent The sudden price decline has unleashed a wave of 
liquidations on the derivatives exchanges, leading to $158 million in 
Ethereum-related contracts being flushed. Of these, $140 million of the 
liquidations involved long positions alone. Below is a heatmap from CoinGlass 
that breaks down the liquidation numbers related to the various digital asset 
symbols. Interestingly, while notable liquidations have occurred, derivatives 
investors still haven&#8217;t become discouraged. ETH Open Interest Has Gone Up 
Since The Dip As pointed out by CryptoQuant community analyst Maartunn in an X 
post, the Ethereum Open Interest has witnessed a sharp jump following the 
price decline. The &#8220;Open Interest&#8221; here refers to an indicator that measures 
the total amount of positions related to ETH that are currently open on all 
centralized derivatives platforms. Here is the chart shared by Maartunn that 
shows the trend in this metric over the past couple of days: As displayed in 
the above graph, the Ethereum Open Interest initially collapsed alongside the 
price drop as long positions suffered forceful closures. As ETH&#8217;s bearish 
momentum tapered off and the price settled into a sideways rhythm, however, 
the metric saw a gradual reversal in direction, indicating that speculators 
have started opening up fresh positions. Since the dip, the ETH Open Interest 
has gone up by almost $654 million, equivalent to an increase of 4.3%. &#8220;Looks 
like the gamblers are back for another round,&#8221; noted the analyst. 
Historically, a high value on the metric has generally been something that has 
led to volatility for the cryptocurrency. This is because an extreme amount of 
positions implies the presence of a high amount of leverage in the sector. In 
these conditions, any sharp swing in the asset can induce a large number of 
liquidations in the market. These liquidations only feed back into the price 
move that caused them, making it more intense. Related Reading: Bitcoin Puell 
Multiple Plunges, But Not Inside Bottom Zone Yet An example of this pattern 
was already seen during the past day. With the Ethereum Open Interest now 
rising again, it remains to be seen whether more volatility will follow. 
Featured image from Dall-E, CryptoQuant.com, CoinGlass.com, TradingView.com

Ethereum Speculators Add $654M In Bets As Price Plunges To $2,800

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Ethereum price started a fresh decline below $2,880. ETH is now attempting to 
recover from $2,720 but the bulls might face resistance. Ethereum started a 
fresh decline below $2,880 and $2,800. The price is trading below $2,850 and 
the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. There is a short-term bearish trend line 
forming with resistance at $2,820 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed 
via Kraken). The pair could continue to move up if it settles above the $2,850 
zone. Ethereum Price Attempts Recovery Ethereum price failed to stay above 
$2,950 and started a fresh decline, like Bitcoin. ETH price declined below 
$2,880 to enter a bearish zone. The bears even pushed the price below $2,800. 
A low was formed at $2,718 and the price is now attempting to recover. There 
was a move above the $2,750 level. The price climbed above the 23.6% Fib 
retracement level of the downward move from the $3,052 swing high to the 
$2,718 low. Ethereum price is now trading below $2,850 and the 100-hourly 
Simple Moving Average. If there is another upward move, the price could face 
resistance near the $2,820 level. There is also a short-term bearish trend 
line forming with resistance at $2,820 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. The 
next key resistance is near the $2,880 level or the 50% Fib retracement level 
of the downward move from the $3,052 swing high to the $2,718 low. The first 
major resistance is near the $2,920 level. A clear move above the $2,920 
resistance might send the price toward the $3,000 resistance. An upside break 
above the $3,000 region might call for more gains in the coming days. In the 
stated case, Ether could rise toward the $3,050 resistance zone or even $3,150 
in the near term. Another Decline In ETH? If Ethereum fails to clear the 
$2,880 resistance, it could start a fresh decline. Initial support on the 
downside is near the $2,760 level. The first major support sits near the 
$2,740 zone. A clear move below the $2,740 support might push the price toward 
the $2,720 support. Any more losses might send the price toward the $2,650 
region in the near term. The next key support sits at $2,550 and $2,500. 
Technical Indicators Hourly MACD – The MACD for ETH/USD is losing momentum in 
the bearish zone. Hourly RSI &#8211; The RSI for ETH/USD is now below the 50 zone. 
Major Support Level – $2,720 Major Resistance Level – $2,880

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The post Bitcoin&#8217;s rise to $96.9K could trigger $9.6B short position 
liquidation appeared first on Crypto Briefing.

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