Bitcoin Nears Record High While Ethereum and XRP Test Support Amid Whale Moves

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple: Market Movements and Key Developments

Bitcoin Approaches All-Time High, Ethereum and XRP Defend Support Levels

According to FXStreet, Bitcoin (BTC) stabilized around $106,400 on Wednesday, just 3% below its all-time high of $109,588. The cryptocurrency broke above its $105,000 resistance on Sunday, retested this level, and found support, with the price rising slightly on Tuesday and stabilizing at $106,700 by Wednesday. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) on the daily chart was at 71, indicating strong bullish momentum but also signaling a potential pullback due to overbought conditions. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator showed indecisiveness among traders.

If BTC maintains support above $105,000, it could rally toward its all-time high. However, a close below this level could lead to a decline, potentially retesting the psychological $100,000 mark.

Asset	Current Price	Key Support	All-Time High	RSI
Bitcoin (BTC)	$106,400	$105,000	$109,588	71

Ethereum (ETH) held strong at its 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) support near $2,441 and hovered around $2,500 on Wednesday. The RSI for ETH was at 69, also indicating bullish momentum but with caution due to overbought signals. If ETH remains above the 200-day EMA, it could rally to retest the $3,000 level. A close below $2,441 could see ETH decline toward $2,000.

Ripple (XRP) hovered around its 50-day EMA at $2.28, maintaining stability despite fading momentum. After rebounding and rising 3.18% on Sunday, XRP declined but stayed above the 50-day EMA. The RSI was at 52, pointing toward neutrality, while the MACD switched to a bearish crossover, signaling weakness. A break below the 50-day EMA could push XRP toward $2.23, while holding above could trigger a rally to $2.72.

Bitcoin is close to its all-time high, with strong bullish momentum but risk of pullback.
Ethereum and XRP are defending key support levels, with potential for rallies if support holds.
Technical indicators suggest caution due to overbought conditions.

Source: FXStreet

"Bitcoin price stabilizes around $106,400 on Wednesday, just 3% shy of its all-time high at $109,588. Ethereum holds strong at the 200-day EMA support near $2,441, signaling potential for recovery. XRP hovers around the 50-day EMA at $2.28, maintaining stability despite fading momentum." — FXStreet

Key Takeaway: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and XRP are at critical technical levels, with the potential for significant moves depending on whether support holds or breaks.

Ethereum Market Overheating Near $2,500: Analysts Predict Short-Term Pullback

TradingView reports that Ethereum (ETH) is showing signs of market exhaustion as it hovers around $2,500. According to CryptoQuant data, ETH’s trading volume has surged, shifting from a "Cooling" to "Overheating" condition within a month. This spike is attributed to profit-taking and significant resistance at the $2,500 level. Over the past 30 days, ETH has jumped 59.7%, outperforming Bitcoin in the same period.

Analyst Ali Martinez emphasized that ETH must hold above $2,200 to maintain bullish momentum, with potential targets of $3,000 or even $4,000 if buying pressure increases. Ted Pillows noted a Golden Cross on the 12-hour chart, typically a bullish signal, and suggested ETH could move to $4,000, while Gianni Pichichero warned of a possible retracement to $2,350 due to lower lows on the daily chart.

ETH trading volume indicates an overheated market, raising the risk of a short-term correction.
ETH has gained 59.7% in 30 days, outperforming BTC.
Key support is at $2,200; resistance and profit-taking are concentrated at $2,500.
Analysts’ targets range from a retracement to $2,350 to a rally toward $4,000.

Source: TradingView

Key Takeaway: Ethereum’s rally has led to overheated market conditions, with analysts divided on whether a pullback or further gains are next.

Ethereum Co-Founder Jeffrey Wilcke Transfers $262 Million in ETH to Kraken

CryptoSlate and tokenpost.com both report that Ethereum co-founder Jeffrey Wilcke transferred approximately 105,736 ETH, worth $262 million, to a Kraken deposit address on May 20. This move emptied nearly all of Wilcke’s holdings, leaving just 268.73 ETH in his wallet. Shortly after the deposit, eight different addresses withdrew the equivalent amount from Kraken, suggesting Wilcke may be dividing his holdings.

This is Wilcke’s first substantial transfer to an exchange since moving $147 million in four transactions last year. Despite the large transfer, ETH’s price remained relatively stable, trading at $2,493, down 0.17% over 24 hours. Over the past 30 days, ETH climbed 72% from earlier lows to a high of $2,737.17 on May 13.

Event	Amount	ETH Price at Transfer	Wallet Balance After
Wilcke to Kraken	105,736 ETH ($262M)	$2,493	268.73 ETH

The transfer has sparked speculation about a potential large-scale sell-off, as Kraken is known as a liquidation hub for crypto whales. The timing coincided with Ethereum rebounding 1.56% to $2,490.44, after dipping to $2,452. Despite the partial recovery, ETH remains below its recent high of $2,585 and is down 3.26% over the past week.

Wilcke’s move follows a trend of high-volume ETH transfers by major players, including Justin Sun and the Ethereum Foundation. Over $450,000 ETH has reportedly been moved by whales in the past month, raising concerns about further downward pressure on ETH’s price.

Wilcke’s $262M transfer is his largest since last year’s $147M in four transactions.
ETH price remained stable despite the large movement.
Whale activity and large transfers are seen as potential signals for market shifts.
Recent Ethereum Foundation activity includes a $94M transfer to Kraken and $82M deposited into Aave’s lending markets.

Sources: CryptoSlate, tokenpost.com

Key Takeaway: Large ETH transfers by major holders, including Wilcke, are fueling speculation about market direction and potential sell-offs.

Vitalik Buterin Proposes “Partially Stateless Nodes” for Ethereum

According to 99Bitcoins, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed a new solution called “partially stateless nodes” to make running an Ethereum node more practical for everyday users. Currently, running a full Ethereum node requires downloading and updating over a terabyte of blockchain data, which is a significant barrier for most users.

Buterin’s proposal would allow users to store only the parts of the network they interact with, such as specific smart contracts or tokens, rather than the entire blockchain. This approach would reduce reliance on centralized services like Infura, improve privacy, and enhance network resilience. The proposal aligns with other efforts, such as EIP-4444, which suggests nodes only need to store recent history.

Partially stateless nodes would let users store only relevant data, reducing storage and syncing requirements.
This could make node-running accessible to more users and reduce dependence on centralized providers.
The proposal is still in early stages and not yet available for users.
It is part of a broader push to scale Ethereum while maintaining decentralization and accessibility.

Source: 99Bitcoins

Key Takeaway: Vitalik Buterin’s proposal could significantly lower the technical barriers to running Ethereum nodes, supporting decentralization and user privacy.

Sources: