Compass Investments

According to crypto analyst Merlin Trader, ETH has demonstrated a pattern called a “three-step bull trap” twice in the past four months.

The pattern is simple: three consecutive rises, each accompanied by stochastic RSI peaks, followed by a decline and sharp selling. In November, everything happened exactly according to this scenario. Now the same Stoch RSI configuration has reappeared in March, when the price is just above $2,000, a level that the analyst considers to be the last line of defense.

ETH is trading at $2,141 at the time of writing, having lost 1.15% in the last 24 hours. The market capitalization is $258 billion and the trading volume reached $22.3 billion in 24 hours. Liquidations data from CoinGlass adds to the pessimism: a total of $81.56 million worth of ETH was liquidated, of which $51.5 million was for long positions and $30.06 million for short positions. This ratio creates prerequisites for a fall if the support is broken.

FIVE RSI SIGNALS FOR BITCOIN. FIVE TIMES HE GUESSED. THE SIXTH IS FORMING RIGHT NOW.

A bearish RSI divergence trendline on the daily chart of Bitcoin.

Every time this line was touched, the price dropped.

The question mark is right here on the chart.

The RSI trendline breakout: The bears have finally been defeated.

The analyst’s goal is clear: hold the $2K mark and the trap will be canceled, the bulls will regain control. Lose this support and history will repeat itself for the third time.

While price fluctuations attract the attention of speculators, Ethereum’s development plan is approaching its most important update in years. The Glamsterdam hardfork, scheduled for June 2026, aims to address fundamental architectural flaws that have long held the network back.

The key element will be EIP-7928, which introduces block-level access lists, enabling parallel processing of transactions. Essentially, this moves Ethereum from a serial model to a multi-lane model, with a target throughput of 10,000 transactions per second, which is significantly higher than current capabilities.

EIP-7732 solves a different problem: anchoring the Proposer-Builder Separation moves blockchain block creation to the blockchain, eliminating dependence on third-party relay infrastructure such as Flashbots.

The developers estimate that this reduces the extraction of MEVs – profits generated by reordering transactions – by 70% , which is critical for ordinary users who now implicitly bear these costs.

The cost of gas may also undergo changes. EIP-7904 recalculates fees based on current hardware standards, projecting a 78.6% reduction in price for both simple transfers and complex smart contract transactions. Combined with a planned increase in the blockchain’s gas limit from 60 million to 200 million, Glamsterdam promises not an incremental improvement, but a true breakthrough in scalability.

On the institutional front, BlackRock launched its iShares Staked Ethereum Trust (ETHB) on the Nasdaq exchange on March 12. This is the first ETF from a major asset manager to integrate staking fees directly into the product’s return structure, making it markedly different from standard spot ETFs.

the fund places between 70 and 95% of its assets in ETH, passing on to investors about 82% of the gross staking fee, which is currently about 3.1% annually, in monthly payments. BlackRock has set the management fee at 0.25% , which is reduced to 0.12% for the first year or until the fund reaches $2.5 billion in assets.

The market reacted promptly. ETHB reached $254 million in assets under management (AUM) in its first week, including $146 million in new investor inflows and more than $100 million in initial capital. Staking is provided through institutional validators including Coinbase Prime, Figment, Galaxy Digital and Attestant. A liquidity reserve of 5-30% of unallocated ETH ensures that shares can be redeemed despite withdrawal queues.