Ether (ETH) is at risk of falling below the $1,500 support level as selling pressure mounts from both macroeconomic concerns and significant distribution by co-founder Vitalik Buterin.
The token dropped more than 5.60% on Monday to trade around $1,850, driven by a broader de-risking sentiment in the market. The price decline caused Ethereum to break below the lower trendline of a bear pennant pattern on the charts. This technical breakdown, accompanied by rising trading volume, suggests a continuation of the downtrend. The price target for this pattern is approximately $1,475, which could be reached by the end of February or early March. For bulls to invalidate this bearish setup, they would need to reclaim the pennant’s lower trendline and push the price above the 20-day exponential moving average (EMA), currently sitting at $2,085.
Selling pressure has been exacerbated by actions from Vitalik Buterin. On January 30, Buterin announced plans to sell 16,384 ETH via his Kanro entity to fund ecosystem work during an Ethereum Foundation “mild austerity” phase. Onchain data indicates that approximately 9,000 ETH have been sold in batches since early February. The pace of these sales accelerated over the past 48 hours following a 3,500 ETH withdrawal from the Aave protocol.
Buterin still holds approximately 7,350 ETH remaining to be sold, creating a potential supply overhang for the market. Ethereum’s price has declined 18.55% in February, aligning with the timeline of these distributions. Historical data shows that sales linked to the founder or the Ethereum Foundation often coincide with local tops or significant price declines. In May 2021, the Ethereum Foundation transferred 35,000 ETH (worth approximately $125 million at the time), which was followed by a 50% price drop within weeks. Similarly, a transfer of 20,000 ETH ($95 million) to Kraken on November 11, 2021, coincided with ETH reaching its peak near $4,700 before entering a major decline.
