The crypto market has been plagued with increased volatility lately, with the second largest crypto token by market cap, Ethereum (ETH), not exempt. This has made it harder to determine Ethereum’s future trajectory. However, certain metrics indicate what direction ETH’s price could head in when this volatility subsides. 

Ethereum Investors Are Bullish

Data from Coinglass shows that most Ethereum investors and traders are still bullish on the crypto token despite recent fluctuating prices. Specifically, most of these traders have continued to open long positions on Ethereum, meaning they are betting on it experiencing significant moves to the upside in the long run. 

The bullish sentiment towards Ethereum is highlighted by a trader who, having lost $4.5 million while longing ETH, still opened another long position on the second-largest crypto token. This crypto whale went as far as borrowing 17.3 million USDT from Compound just to increase their position on Ethereum. 

These investors’ bullishness on Ethereum is even more commendable, considering that the bulls have suffered the most from ETH’s high volatility. Data from Coinglass shows that over $16 million in long positions have been liquidated in the last 24 hours, compared to the $10 million short positions that have liquidated during this period. 

Meanwhile, data from the market intelligence platform IntoTheBlock shows that Ethereum’s Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) ratio has dropped, indicating that many Ethereum holders are not yet in profit. This could be bullish for ETH’s price as these holders will likely hold in anticipation of further upward price action, thereby providing support against any potential price declines. 

Making A Case For The Bears

While the activity in the derivates market and Ethereum’s MVRV ratio paint a bullish outlook for the crypto token, Ethereum’s network growth suggests that ETH could still experience further price declines. Data from Santiment shows that the rate at which new users enter the Ethereum ecosystem has slowed recently. 

This declining network growth is also evident in a recent Bitcoinist report, which noted that Ethereum fees have dropped to their lowest since January. Ethereum fees are known to skyrocket when there is increased activity on the network. Therefore, low fees mean fewer new users are currently transacting on the network or even holding the ETH token at all. 

However, the silver lining is that data from Santiment also shows an increase in velocity, which suggests that existing users on the network are actively trading and injecting more liquidity into the Ethereum ecosystem. This factor could also contribute to potential price surges for the ETH token. 

At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading at around $3,200, which is up in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. 

ETH bears pull price below $3,200 | Source: ETHUSD on Tradingview.com

Featured image from Token Information, chart from Tradingview.com

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