Ethereum Defended $2,300 Despite Hacking Setback… What Are the Whales' Hidden Intentions?

▲ Ethereum (ETH), Cryptocurrency Whales/ChatGPT Generated Image ©

Despite a massive setback recently, with over $10 billion exiting decentralized finance protocols due to a large-scale hacking incident, the leading cryptocurrency Ethereum (ETH), bolstered by strong accumulation from major whales and easing geopolitical tensions, has firmly defended its key support level of $2,300, surprising the market.

According to FXStreet, an investment specialized media outlet, on April 23 (local time), the total fees on the Ethereum mainnet surged to their second-highest level since the large-scale leveraged liquidation event on October 10. While the London upgrade's fee burning mechanism has had the positive effect of reducing Ethereum's supply, behind this surge in fees lies a major negative event: the $292 million KelpDAO hacking incident. According to DeFiLlama data, in the wake of this hack, a massive $10.7 billion exited the Ethereum-based decentralized finance ecosystem in just five days, the total locked-up deposits plummeted to $45.8 billion, and the number of active addresses also showed a clear decline.

Despite this terrible capital outflow and $74 million in cascading liquidations over 24 hours, particularly $62.7 million in forced liquidation of long positions, Ethereum's price has been stably hovering between $2,300 and $2,400 as of Thursday. The main reasons for this impressive resilience include improved macroeconomic investor sentiment due to the extended ceasefire between the US and Iran, along with the unwavering and aggressive accumulation by large institutional investors.

Notably, Bitmain Immersion Technologies, an Ethereum treasury firm, is acting as a strong defense for the market. According to Lookonchain, a smart money tracking firm, three new wallets strongly suspected to be linked to Bitmain were observed receiving 100,000 Ethereum from virtual asset custodian BitGo. The company is understood to have further staked 93,600 Ethereum, increasing its total holdings to an impressive 3.489 million ETH, acting as a key driver in absorbing downward pressure.

From a technical perspective, Ethereum is firmly maintaining a positive short-term trend. On the daily chart, the price is stably moving above the 20-day exponential moving average (EMA) of $2,275 and the 50-day EMA of $2,226, with an ascending trendline near $2,308 providing a solid support base. The 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) remains in the neutral zone near 55, and the Stochastic Oscillator also indicates a mid-level, suggesting that the market is not overheated and is accumulating energy within a healthy uptrend.

In the short term, Ethereum's primary resistance level to break is the $2,388 area, which coincides with the 100-day exponential moving average. If this barrier is decisively breached, it would pave the way for an unimpeded ascent towards $2,746. Conversely, if the price turns bearish, the short-term ascending trendline at $2,308, along with the 20-day and 50-day EMAs, would act as the primary defense. Should these levels also collapse, the media analysis suggests a risk of a severe cascading decline, potentially pushing the price down to $2,211, then $2,107, and in the worst-case scenario, to $1,909 and $1,741.

*Disclaimer: This article is for investment reference only, and we are not responsible for any investment losses based on it. The content should be interpreted for informational purposes only.*