Ether declined against the dollar this weekend, and is now approaching a critical support level as the market corrected lower following last week’s failed rally.
$350 Proves Elusive
ETH/USD was last seen trading around $293, down more than 1% from the previous close. Technical headwinds are limiting ether’s momentum, according to the MACD and Relative Strength Index (RSI).
Ether’s rally last week stopped short at $350 on two occasions, as the bulls disavowed their long positions. The subsequent breakdown through the weekend erased 16% from Ethereum’s value.
At present levels, the Ethereum blockchain is capitalized at nearly $28 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.
The world’s second-largest digital currency by market cap faces immediate support near $290. On the opposite side of the spectrum, resistance is likely found in the $305-$310 region.
Upgrade Still Not Stable
Ether underwent a successful hard fork last week, but the blockchain has yet to be deemed stable by its chief developer Vitalik Buterin. Ethereum’s chief architect has already informed the market that up to two months of further testing may be needed to fully secure the blockchain.
The first leg of the Metropolis hard fork occurred last Monday after block 4,370,000 was mined. The blockchain successfully avoided a chain split even after Geth developers addressed a last-minute denial-of-service (DoS) vulnerability. Geth is the most popular software on the Ethereum network.
The Metropolis protocol will require a second update, called Constantinople, before it is function. No timeline for the Constantinople upgrade has been provided.
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