Ethereum Now Challenges $1,600 Resistance as Pectra, Fusaka Upgrade Momentum Builds

• Ethereum (ETH) shows strength, actively testing the significant $1,600 price level after market volatility
• Major network upgrades, Pectra (May) and Fusaka (late 2025), promise to boost ETH scalability and utility
• These fundamental improvements via upgrades underpin a bullish outlook, holding ETH price gains

Ethereum (ETH) sits at a key point right now wherein investors are weighing the heavy whale selling and low network activity against upcoming technical upgrades against hopes of a price recovery.

Data shows whales have offloaded a massive 143,000 ETH (~$229 million) just last week. That kind of selling often signals caution among major market participants. 

Whales have offloaded 143,000 #Ethereum $ETH over the past week! pic.twitter.com/n8cmwyUpER

— Ali (@ali_charts) April 17, 2025

After a rough month that saw prices tumble by 15%, ETH is trying to regain its footing, currently trading at $1,606.74, up nearly 2% in the past 24 hours, shows CoinMarketCap data. 

With major upgrades like Pectra and Fusaka planned for this year, traders and long-term holders wonder if ETH will be able to push above $2,000 in the near future.

What Does Ethereum’s On-Chain Data Show?

According to Santiment, Ethereum’s transaction fees have dropped to just $0.168; the lowest level seen in five years. 

While lower fees are good for users, Santiment analyst Brian Quinlivan notes they typically indicate low demand for block space – meaning fewer people are actively sending ETH or using smart contracts.

Historically, Quinlivan adds, low fee periods often come before prices stall or decline, signaling reduced trader interest. 

Related: Ethereum Holders Find Big Yields (20%+) in DeFi Vaults as ETH Consolidates

ETH Price Bounces Off Key Support: What Levels Matter Now?

Despite the whale selling and low fees, ETH price recently bounced off a critical support level around $1,528.50. Analyst Ali Martinez identified this zone as significant where 2.61 million addresses accumulated over 4.82 million ETH. Holding this $1,528 support is key.

Related: Ethereum’s Next Move? Analysis Identifies 3 Key Price Levels to Watch Closely

The immediate resistance then lies at the 20-day EMA, currently sitting at $1,687. Reclaiming this level would be an early sign of recovery. However, ETH remains below this moving average, indicating it’s still in a short-term downtrend.

Technically, Ethereum’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) hovers near the 40–41 level. This puts it in neutral-to-bearish territory, meaning ETH isn’t yet showing strong bullish momentum.

Meanwhile, Bollinger Bands (BB) are beginning to tighten, often a precursor to a large breakout move. 

With ETH hugging the lower Band support, the current setup implies that downside pressure is still present, but volatility compression suggests a breakout is imminent.

Can Upcoming Pectra & Fusaka Upgrades Revive ETH Price?

Looking ahead is where Ethereum bulls point to the network upgrades. The Pectra upgrade, expected around May, is a technical leap in that it boosts Layer-2 scalability by introducing more data blobs, letting rollups process data more cheaply. 

Pectra also increases the validator cap significantly (from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH) that helps with greater institutional participation in staking. However, lower transaction fees from blobs might impact ETH’s value accrual slightly. 

Later this year, the Fusaka upgrade will bring enhancements to developer tooling and dark sharding, along with the Ethereum Object Format, which simplifies smart contract development and reduces security risks.

Both the updates come at a time when Ethereum is under a massive sell-off pressure and has been outperformed by most of its rivals in the past year, including BNB, Solana, Tron, and others, states a Binance Research report.