4 Warning Signs Suggest Ethereum (ETH) Price May Not Recover Soon in Late December

Core Insights - Ethereum (ETH) has been trading sideways around the $3,000 level for the past two weeks, with insufficient demand despite recent purchases from firms like BitMine and Trend Research, indicating a lack of short-term recovery potential [1] Group 1: Exchange Reserves - ETH exchange reserves increased from 16.2 million to 16.6 million, representing a transfer of approximately 400,000 ETH onto exchanges during Christmas week [2] - A significant deposit of 100,000 ETH was made by one "OG whale" into Binance, while BitMine and Trend Research purchased 67,886 ETH and 46,379 ETH respectively, but these purchases are smaller than the total ETH moved onto exchanges [3] Group 2: Selling Pressure - If ETH is transferred to exchanges for liquidation and exceeds buying absorption, selling pressure could intensify, potentially leading to further downside pressure on ETH prices as the year ends [4] Group 3: Leverage Ratio - Ethereum's Estimated Leverage Ratio remains elevated, reflecting higher leverage used by traders, with current readings reaching as high as 0.76, indicating vulnerability to small price moves that could trigger cascade liquidations [5][6] Group 4: Coinbase Premium - Ethereum's Coinbase Premium has turned deeper negative in December, currently at -0.08, the lowest level in the past month, suggesting US investors are selling at discounted prices [7] - The negative Coinbase Premium indicates that ETH prices on Coinbase Pro are lower compared to Binance, which may hinder short-term recovery until the premium turns positive again [8]