More than a billion dollars worth of Ethereum options are about to expire, and they happen to be bearish. If you are a proactive ETH investor who believes in the prospect of ETH/USD reaching the $5,000 trading level, you are currently in the minority.

According to the latest market action, ETH price is trading below the $3,000 level while looking to gain bullish momentum before $3,400 is reached. The ETH/USD pair seems to have turned a sharp bullish trend on Wednesday, closing above the $2,985 level. The subsequent pullback was capped by an upside breakout.

It appears that a mini ETH rally took place amid bearish headlines from Ripple, Bitcoin and Ripple respectively. The reason ETH is holding up during this downtrend period is that the current crypto market is a mix of bulls and bears. Bulls seem to be more comfortable after the recent rally while bears are attempting to test $3,000 support. The price action during this period is characterized by a bullish engulfing pattern on the 1-hour chart with positive indicators like the RSI and MACD.

With all of the above indicators, it is obvious that the bulls are pushing the ETH price towards the $3,600 support level, and an upside breakout is likely. Therefore, traders can initiate long positions on a close above $3,600. There is a high chance that ETH/USD will reach the resistance level of $3,600 and could even test the next bull resistance of $4,000. However, if the price retraces to the downside, it could extend its current bearish momentum.

ETH/USD Technical Indicators

The market is currently trading near the resistance level of $3,000 in order to attempt a sharp upside breakout. The 100 hourly SMA is holding above the 200 hourly SMA to give the bulls a chance to reach $3,400 in the near term. The MACD has been acting in a bullish zone, which is a positive sign.

On the downside, the 50% Fibonacci retracement level of the recent bearish rally has failed to offer strong support. There is a high chance of the ETH/USD pair breaking below the $2,500 level. Therefore, traders can wait for a breakout above the $3,600 level before initiating long positions.