Fintech
Ethereum climbed to its highest level since January on Saturday, extending Friday’s rally and pushing above a key resistance zone that had contained price action for nearly two months. At 17:56 UTC, ETH changed hands at $2,646 on Bitstamp, up 1.3% on the day and roughly 8% above Thursday’s close. Earlier in the session, it touched $2,668. The advance lifted Ether above $2,616 — the ceiling that had blocked every rally attempt since late August. Friday’s candle closed just $5 below that line, making today’s close the deciding factor for whether the breakout holds. Ether rose alongside a broader market move on Friday, when Bitcoin reclaimed $80,000. But three developments point to Ethereum-specific demand: Ether traded between $2,393 and $2,616 for almost four weeks following the late August breakout. Multiple September wicks pierced the upper boundary and failed. The daily chart now shows price above that range after Friday’s 6% candle. The trend supports the move: the 50-day EMA at $2,309 sits above the 200-day EMA at $2,218, with ETH about 13% above the faster average — stretched, but not extreme for a breakout. First resistance stands at $2,757, roughly 4% higher, where the late January selloff accelerated. Above that, the next zone runs from $3,371 to $3,454. A Fibonacci extension places the 100% level at $3,499 (about 32% higher), while the 161.8% extension sits at $4,213 — roughly 59% above today’s price.
A daily close back below $2,616 would mark another failed breakout, returning $2,393 — about 10% lower — to first-support status. Only a close beneath $2,393 would break the structure built since August and bring the 50-day EMA near $2,309 into play. Citi’s 12-month target, set in July, is $2,240 — Ether already trades about 18% above it. Standard Chartered sees $4,000 by end-2026 and $40,000 by 2030. The bank trimmed its year-end forecast from $7,500 in June, according to Yahoo Finance. Geoffrey Kendrick, its global head of digital assets research, argued that “transaction counts and total value locked sit near record highs in ETH terms.” 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 price broke above $2,616. How high can Ethereum go? The first target is $2,757. A daily close above it opens $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 breakout? A daily close below $2,616 would signal failure, with $2,393 as the next support. This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.