Ethereum is up again today (Saturday), extending Friday's rally to its highest price since January. Ether traded at $2,646 on Bitstamp at 17:56 UTC, up 1.3% on the day and about 8% above Thursday's close, after touching $2,668 earlier in the session.
The move takes ETH above $2,616, the ceiling that capped every rally attempt since late August. Friday's daily candle closed just $5 short of that level, so today's close decides whether the breakout is real.
Why Ethereum Is Rising
Ether rose with the rest of the market on Friday, when Bitcoin reclaimed $80,000. Three things now point to ETH-specific demand:
Santiment linked the cheaper fees to the Fusaka upgrade, higher blob capacity and Layer-2 networks taking over activity from the main chain. The firm cautioned that lower fees alone do not prove stronger demand.
The macro backdrop also helped. The Federal Reserve raised rates on Wednesday and the Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act earlier in the week, yet neither event triggered a lasting selloff.
Ethereum Price Prediction: $2,757 Is the Next Test
Ether spent almost four weeks between $2,393 and $2,616 after the late August breakout. Several September wicks poked above the top of that box and failed. Today my daily chart shows the price trading above it after a 6% Friday candle.
The trend supports the move. The 50-day EMA at $2,309 runs above the 200-day EMA at $2,218, and ETH trades about 13% above the faster average. That is stretched but not extreme for a breakout.
The first resistance is $2,757, about 4% above the current price. It is where the late January selloff accelerated, so I expect sellers there.
Above it, the chart opens a wider gap. The next resistance zone runs from $3,371 to $3,454, and my Fibonacci extension puts the 100% level at $3,499, about 32% higher. The 161.8% extension is at $4,213, roughly 59% above today's price.
How My Earlier Ethereum Calls Played Out
In my July Ethereum analysis, ETH had just cleared its year-long downtrend. Since the June low near $1,507, the price has risen about 76%.
In Friday's analysis I set a daily close above $2,616 as the trigger for $2,757. The price is now above that level, but the confirmation still depends on today's close.
Other analysts watch similar levels. Chart analyst Ali Martinez flagged $2,570 as the breakout point, Benzinga reported, with $2,700 and potentially $3,000 above it. Ether cleared $2,570 on Friday.
What Would Stop the Rally
A daily close back below $2,616 would turn today's move into another failed breakout. In that case, the range floor at $2,393, about 10% lower, becomes the first support again.
Only a close below $2,393 would break the structure built since August and put the 50-day EMA near $2,309 in play.
What Banks Expect for Ether
Ether already trades about 18% above the target Citi cut in July. Standard Chartered's year-end target is about 51% above the current price and sits between my two Fibonacci levels.
Standard Chartered cut that forecast from $7,500 in June, according to Yahoo Finance. Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank's global head of digital assets research, argued then that "transaction counts and total value locked sit near record highs in ETH terms."
FAQ
Why is Ethereum up today?
Ether is extending Friday's broad crypto rally. Spot Ether ETFs returned to inflows of $143.7 million after three days of outflows, and the price broke above $2,616, a level that had capped it since late August.
How high can Ethereum go?
My chart shows $2,757 as the first target. A daily close above it would open $3,371 to $3,499, with the 161.8% Fibonacci extension at $4,213.
Is this the highest Ethereum price in 2026?
No. Ether traded near $3,400 in mid-January, before the late January selloff. Today's high of $2,668 is the highest since the end of January.
What would invalidate the Ethereum breakout?
A daily close below $2,616 would signal a failed breakout, with $2,393 as the next support.
This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.
Source: Finance Magnates
