Decentral Block Post

Ethereum (ETH) price is struggling to overcome resistance at $1,600 and this is the altcoin’s third attempt since September 2022. Some would say the 33% year-to-date rally could be interpreted as a failed opportunity to breach the $200 billion market capitalization mark. 

If Ethereum price were to break above $1,600, it would return Ether to a top-60 global tradable asset, surpassing giant multinational companies like Nike (NKE), Novartis (NVS), Cisco (CSCO) and Toyota (TM).

Unfortunately, at least for bullish traders, derivatives markets are not hinting that Ether will finally break the $1,600 resistance — at least, not until the U.S. Federal Reserve reverses its course of tightening the economy.

Bulls' frustrations can partially be explained by Silvergate Bank's $1 billion net loss in the latest quarter. The crypto-friendly bank laid off roughly 40% of its workforce on Jan. 5 and it now faces a class-action lawsuit over its FTX and Alameda Research dealings. The suit alleges that Silvergate aided and abetted FTX's fraudulent activities and the exchanges' breaches of fiduciary duty.

The negative newsflow continued on Jan. 17, as Japan's deputy director-general of the Financial Services Agency's Strategy Development and Management Bureau, Mamoru Yanase, argued that the crypto sector should face the same regulation as traditional banks and brokerages.

The United States producer price index (PPI) fell 0.5% for the month, which was much more than the 0.1% decline estimated by economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The largest monthly decline since April 2020 was also aided by a sharp drop in energy prices. 

Another report showed that the retail sales data dropped 1.1% in December, a tad bit more than the anticipated 1% decrease.

Although both data points show inflation is cooling off, the U.S. stock markets failed to hold on to their initial gains. Similarly, several cryptocurrencies sold off from their intraday highs, indicating that traders may have booked profits ahead of the Federal Reserve’s meeting on Feb. 1.

The strong crypto recovery in the past few days has seen traders return to the fore. Bitcoin’s (BTC) trading volume soared 114% over seven days. Strong volume accompanied by a sharp rise in prices usually indicates aggressive buying by the bulls. This increases the likelihood that Bitcoin’s November low at $15,476 may not be breached.

How far could Bitcoin and altcoins correct and what are the important support levels to keep an eye on? Let’s study the charts of the top-10 cryptocurrencies to find out.