Ethereum (ETH) is showing renewed strength after the U.S. government ended its historic 43-day shutdown, an event that had weighed heavily on investor confidence across global markets.
ETH price is currently hovering above the $3,400 support zone after a volatile week marked by ETF outflows, declining volume, and intense bearish sentiment.
Despite the improved macro backdrop, Ethereum remains in a challenging technical position. Key support lies at $3,333 and $3,300, while resistance at $3,590 and $3,666 will determine whether ETH can break its current downtrend.
ETF products continue to show weakness, with all nine Ethereum ETFs recording zero inflows and a combined $107 million in outflows, suggesting institutions remain cautious.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin added optimism to the week by outlining a refreshed scaling roadmap and highlighting DeFi’s evolution into a viable global savings tool.
Central to Buterin’s roadmap is Ethereum’s ongoing Layer 1 and Layer 2 scaling strategy. With rollups, data availability upgrades, and new high-throughput solutions, such as systems already achieving over 10,000 transactions per second, Buterin believes Ethereum is on track to support the next wave of DeFi adoption.
He urged developers to maintain Ethereum’s core values: openness, censorship resistance, and interoperability. Buterin warned that abandoning these principles risks turning Ethereum into a “walled garden,” undermining the ecosystem’s global mission.
The BUIDL fund’s tokenised Treasury products, built natively on Ethereum, showcase the network’s rising importance in traditional finance. Institutional RWA assets have surged nearly 2,000% since January 2024, strengthening Ethereum’s long-term fundamentals even as short-term volatility persists.
Technically, Ethereum remains in a descending channel from its failed August rally toward $5,000. Analysts note that a decisive breakout above $3,700 could flip market structure bullish and reopen paths toward $4,700, especially if macro stability continues after the shutdown settlement.
Cover image from ChatGPT, ETHUSD chart from Tradingview
