Ethereum has recently experienced a surge in buying activity, finding robust support at the critical $3.5K level, triggering a bullish rebound.

Despite this recovery, the $4K resistance remains a significant barrier that ETH buyers aim to overcome in the mid-term.

Technical Analysis

By Shayan

The Daily Chart

Ethereum’s price action has been characterized by a notable rebound after encountering support at the decisive $3.5K level. This region served as a pivotal accumulation zone, fostering increased buying pressure and a subsequent upward surge. As the price climbs, the $4K resistance emerges as a critical psychological and technical barrier, requiring a decisive breakout to establish a sustained upward trajectory.

Currently, Ethereum is consolidating within the $3.5K-$4K range, indicating a potential breakout in either direction. A successful breach of the $4K threshold could set the stage for a fresh rally and affirm bullish sentiment. Conversely, a rejection at this level may lead to further consolidation or retracement within the existing range.

The 4-Hour Chart

On the lower timeframe, Ethereum’s decline found solid support within the key 0.5 ($3.2K)–0.618 ($3K) Fibonacci retracement levels. This support zone attracted substantial buying interest, halting the downtrend and sparking a bullish recovery.

The subsequent accumulation phase has transitioned into a bullish spike, with Ethereum now eyeing the critical $4K resistance. This level, coinciding with a previous significant swing high, is expected to be a strong selling pressure zone.

Ethereum’s price action at the $4K level will determine its future trajectory. A successful breakout above this resistance could lead to a robust rally, while a failure might result in prolonged consolidation or a potential retest of lower support levels near $3.5K.

Onchain Analysis

By Shayan

The Taker Buy Sell Ratio, a pivotal metric for assessing sentiment in the futures market, provides insights into whether buyers or sellers are more aggressive in executing market orders. Following Ethereum’s bullish rebound near the $3K support, this metric has exhibited a notable uptick, indicating a surge in market buy orders within the futures market.

This trend suggests that futures market participants are increasingly optimistic about Ethereum’s short-term price trajectory, expecting the asset to push toward the $4K resistance.

Takers’ Buy/Sell Ratio exceeding 1 means buyers are overwhelmingly dominant, often aligning with the onset of a bullish trend. The current data underscores this sentiment shift, reflecting heightened confidence among traders and an expectation of continued upward momentum.

Bitcoin’s price resurgance continued in the past 24 hours as the asset jumped to a multi-week peak of $99,000 before it was stopped and pushed south by around a grand.

Many altcoins have posted impressive gains within the same timeframe, with ETH trading well above $3,500, while DOGE skyrocketed by double-digits.

BTC Eyed $99K

Ever since the mid-December crash, BTC was unable to recover most losses and has remained well below $100,000. Moreover, it plunged to a monthly low of $91,300 on Monday, December 30, with bears anticipating another leg down to under $90,000.

However, the bulls finally stepped up at this point and didn’t allow such a drop. Not without some more struggles, BTC managed to bounce off and jumped to $96,000 on December 31. It faced another rejection there, which drove it to $93,000, but this time, it reacted better and started to reclaim some ground in a more impressive manner.

As the new year arrived, bitcoin jumped to over $97,000 on January 2 and kept climbing in the past 24 hours to its highest level since December 26 of $99,000. Still, it failed there and was pushed down to around $97,000 as of now.

Its market capitalization has risen to $1.940 trillion after the recent recovery, while its dominance over the alts has taken another hit and is down to 53.3% on CG.

SUI Sees New ATH

The alternative coins have registered impressive gains over the past day as well. ETH, which had struggled below $3,500 for weeks, is well above that level after a 4.5% daily surge. SOL, XRP, ADA, AVAX, TRX, and TON are also in the green.

LINK and SHIB have jumped by around 5-7%, while DOGE skyrocketed by 14% and sits close to $0.39 after a minor retracement from its intraday peak.

SUI stands out as the top performer from the larger-cap alts. The asset skyrocketed by 17% in the past day and charted a new all-time high of well over $5.

The total crypto market cap is up by around $100 billion since yesterday and sits at $3.640 trillion on CG.

TL:DR;

• Cardano’s ADA and Ripple’s XRP posted notable gains after the US elections in November, with analysts and experts expecting similar or even more impressive performances in 2025.
• But which has the chance to do better? Here’s ChatGPT’s answer.

Why ADA and XRP?

The answer to this question perhaps lies in the companies behind the tokens and their headquarters, as both are based in the United States. Ripple’s CEO previously said that US-based crypto projects benefited the most from Donald Trump’s victory in the US elections as the SEC under Gary Gensler and the Biden administration had openly and consistently suppressed such local businesses.

This is all due to change. Gensler will depart in a few weeks when Trump reenters the White House. Additionally, the 119th US Congress was just sworn in, which Garlinghouse described as the ‘most pro-crypto Congress in history.’

Consequently, both Ripple and Cardano, as well as their underlying assets, could indeed continue to benefit under a more friendly administration and clearer regulations. ADA and XRP charted triple-digit gains within weeks after the November elections, both skyrocketing to multi-year peaks. However, neither managed to break their previous all-time highs, which leaves room for growth.

ADA vs. XRP in 2025

Hoskinson and Garlinghouse are rumored to be involved in helping develop the new regulatory framework in the US, which could positively impact their respective companies and underlying assets. IOG’s founder recently said that “Cardano is going to heights it’s never been before” in 2025. But, will it do better than Ripple’s XRP?

ChatGPT said Cardano has mostly focused on DeFi and blockchain innovation, which positions it for “significant growth,” with some predictions envisioning a new all-time high in 2025 of over $3.

At the same time, Ripple’s strengths lie in XRP’s utility in cross-border payments and the recent RLUSD stablecoin launch. Both companies have made some notable partnerships in the past year or so, with Cardano focusing on rising adoption in struggling regions like Africa and South America, while Ripple continues with its collaborations with financial giants, such as SBI Holdings.

The challenges for XRP include the highly competitive cross-border market, such as SWIFT and other blockchain-based solutions. On the other hand, Cardano’s competition in DeFi is quite substantial, with the presence of more established alternatives like Ethereum and some with growing market share, such as Solana. Additionally, Cardano has been “criticized for its slow development pace,” noted ChatGPT.

In conclusion, the AI-driven chatbot said both have substantial room for growth but perhaps have different purposes in investors’ portfolios.

If market adoption and sentiment are the primary drivers in 2025:

• Cardano (ADA) might have higher potential for explosive growth due to its focus on DeFi, scalability, and global projects.
• Ripple (XRP) might see steady, consistent growth driven by institutional adoption and regulatory clarity.