Ethereum (ETH) continues to face bearish pressure despite Bybit exchange recovering most of its reserves following the recent hack. ETH has fallen more than 8% in the past 24 hours, extending its decline to more than 22% over the past 30 days, reflecting bearish market sentiment and the dominance of bearish indicators.
Bybit Hack Impact on Ethereum
The attack on Bybit saw the supply of ETH on the exchange plummet from 443,000 ETH to just 20,250 ETH in a single day. The sudden drop sparked concerns of a liquidity crunch, leading to selling pressure on not only ETH but also BTC and other cryptocurrencies.
However, Bybit has been quick to restore its reserves. As of February 24, the exchange held 372,000 ETH, or 84% of its pre-hack reserves. This helped alleviate initial liquidity concerns and may have spurred new demand for ETH. However, Ethereum has yet to recover to pre-hack levels.
Technical indicators show bearish bias
Ethereum's relative strength index (RSI) showed significant volatility. Following the hack, the RSI recovered to 63.2 on February 23, reflecting increased buying pressure. However, the RSI soon dropped to 43, indicating a rapid shift in market sentiment from bullish to cautious.
ETH DMI. Source: TradingView
When the RSI drops near oversold territory, it could signal a continuation of the bearish trend unless buying pressure returns strongly. If the RSI remains below 50 for an extended period, selling pressure could push ETH to key support levels.
In addition, Ethereum's average directional index (ADX) also weakened, falling from 21.4 to 18.3, indicating that the current trend has no clear momentum. The -DI increased from 12.3 to 22.9, while the +DI decreased from 30.4 to 20, indicating that selling pressure is dominant.
The crossover between -DI and +DI confirms the bearish trend, meaning that ETH may continue to be under pressure in the short term, unless strong buying pressure appears to reverse the trend.
Ethereum faces strong resistance at $2,850
Over the past three weeks, ETH has failed to break above $2,900, with strong resistance at $2,850. If the downtrend continues, Ethereum may retest the $2,551 support level, and in a negative scenario, the price may fall further to $2,159.
ETH Price Analysis. Source: TradingView
On the other hand, if Bybit fully restores its reserves, this could provide positive momentum for ETH, helping the price retest the $2,850 level. If this level is broken, Ethereum could head towards higher levels such as $3,020 and $3,442.
A key sign to watch in the near term is ETH breaking above $2,900, a level it has not been able to maintain since early February. If this barrier is overcome, Ethereum could enter a recovery phase, aiming for a higher long-term target.
Conclusion
Although Bybit has restored most of its ETH reserves, the market sentiment remains cautious and the bearish bias remains dominant. With technical indicators showing a weakening of bullish momentum, Ethereum could remain under pressure in the short term.
However, a full recovery by Bybit and the return of investment inflows could play a key role in pushing ETH prices back to key levels, especially if the market reacts positively to new supportive factors.
