As whales accumulate, can Ethereum break out of the bear flag?

Ethereum rebounded above $1,700 as easing geopolitical tensions and fresh whale accumulation raised hopes that the second-largest cryptocurrency could break out of a weeks-long bearish structure.

According to data from crypto.news, Ethereum ($ETH) It rose nearly 4% to trade above $1,720 on June 15 as oil prices fell following the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, alleviating looming inflation concerns weighing on risk assets. The rebound comes after several weeks of selling pressure. $ETH From over $2,000 earlier this month to a local low around $1,510.

Ethereum’s rally today came in tandem with Bitcoin’s roughly 3% rally and a rebound in technology stocks, helping Ethereum recover from last week’s sharp selloff and regain key psychological levels.

$ETH It also benefited from a new accumulation of whales. According to Lookonchain, Whale Wallet purchased an additional $5,818 $ETH The total value is approximately $10 million, and is the result of a series of recent purchase transactions.

But not all market participants share the new optimism. The Spot Ethereum ETF has now recorded five consecutive weeks of net outflows, with nearly $900 million leaving the fund during this period, according to SosoValue data. Continued withdrawals suggest that many institutional investors remain cautious despite the recent recovery.

Additional comments from market participants suggest that selling pressure may be easing. “The market is running out of active sellers,” Whale Factor said, noting that outflows from Bitcoin and Ethereum investment products have decreased significantly compared to the previous week.

Ethereum broke above short-term resistance

On the 4-hour chart, Ethereum has broken out of the symmetrical triangle that has been forming since its June 6 lows near $1,510. This breakout pushed the price above the upper trend line of the triangle and back above the $1,700 area, but the supertrend indicator turned bullish around support near $1,658.

Momentum metrics have also been improved. On the daily chart, the RSI recovered from heavily oversold territory and rose towards 37, while the MACD histogram turned positive for the first time in several sessions. $ETH Price also regained the 0.786 Fibonacci retracement level around $1,707, measured from the June drop between $2,426 and $1,511.

Despite the short-term breakout, the daily chart shows that Ethereum is still trading within the larger bearish flag that formed after the early June decline. $ETH Price is currently testing the upper bound of the pattern near the $1,750 to $1,800 area, which could determine whether the recent rally develops into a broader trend reversal.

A decisive move above that level could invalidate the bearish setup and open the door to the $1,850-$1,900 area, but a rejection would keep the flag structure intact and increase the risk of another leg.

Comment on the current situation $ETH Crypto analyst Ted Pillows claimed that Ethereum has already broken its short-term downward trend.

“$ETH It has broken out of a short-term downtrend. If Ethereum breaks above the $1,700 level, it could move towards the $1,850-$1,900 levels. ”

The next major technical hurdle is near $1,860, which coincides with the 0.618 Fibonacci retracement level. A successful move through this area could bring the psychological $1,900 level back into focus and challenge the downtrend line that has capped the rally since May.

We are also seeing traders re-entering bullish positions in the derivatives market. Funding rates are back in positive territory after spending much of the recent decline below neutral levels, suggesting that leveraged traders are putting money back into the mix to maintain long exposures.

Liquidation clusters create both upside targets and downside risks

CoinGlass liquidation data reveals a cluster of short-term liquidations between $1,740 and $1,760, with another large cluster extending towards $1,790. A push into these levels could force additional short covering and accelerate price movement.

Under the market, the largest pocket of liquidity remains around $1,650. The heatmap shows a significant concentration of leveraged positions at that level, making it an important support zone for bulls.

Losing this area could expose Ethereum to further sharp declines towards the whale liquidation area around $1,420.

Fundamental risks also remain unresolved. Ethereum continues to face pressure from weakening token burn dynamics as the Layer 2 network captures transaction activity while reducing fees incurred on the main chain.

At the same time, demand for large altcoins will be limited throughout 2026 due to ETF outflows and capital rotation into artificial intelligence stocks.

Ethereum has secured a technical breakout and is attracting fresh buying whales, but a full recovery will depend on the bulls being able to defend the $1,650 to $1,700 range and break out of the fierce resistance cluster between $1,850 and $1,900.