Ethereum is trading with a bearish bias despite Bitcoin posting gains over the past 24 hours, as investors weigh conflicting signals from institutional flows and company-led accumulation. The focus is on whether ETH can clear key technical resistance near the 100-day level, while BitMine Immersion Technologies continues to build its Ethereum treasury and announce additional equity buybacks.
Key takeaways
- Price move: Ethereum is testing the area near $1,900, with analysts pointing to resistance around the 100-day EMA near $1,918.
- Catalyst: BitMine reported ongoing weekly Ethereum purchases and additional share repurchases, alongside a view that ETH should outperform BTC in the next cycle.
- Investor implication: Spot Ethereum ETF flows show a recent cooling—though Monday brought a partial rebound—leaving momentum dependent on sustained demand.
- Technical implication: A decisive move above $1,918 could open the door to higher resistance zones, while rejection risks a retreat toward shorter-term moving averages.
What drove the move
BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) said it expects Ethereum to outperform Bitcoin in the next market cycle, citing institutional tokenization and “agentic” artificial intelligence as potential drivers of increased demand for blockchain infrastructure. The company framed Ethereum’s smart-contract ecosystem as particularly suited to tokenized assets, stablecoins, decentralized applications, and programmable payments—use cases it argues could translate into stronger network activity and, ultimately, ETH demand.
To support its thesis, BitMine extended its accumulation program. According to the company’s latest disclosures, it bought an additional 9,926 ETH last week, continuing a weekly purchasing streak that began in June 2025. That brings its total ETH holdings to approximately 5.815 million tokens.
In parallel, BitMine repurchased shares. The firm bought back 1.7 million BMNR shares during the week, bringing cumulative repurchases since July 1 to 20.8 million shares under a previously approved $4 billion stock-buyback program. BitMine also reported that it has staked about 5.067 million ETH, representing roughly 87% of its total holdings, and estimated annualized staking revenue of around $250 million.
Market reaction: flows remain mixed
Even as BitMine continued accumulating Ethereum, ETF flow data suggested institutional appetite has been inconsistent. According to SoSoValue, US spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds recorded $2.26 million in net outflows, ending five consecutive weeks of positive flows. Still, the report also noted that inflows returned on Monday, with ETFs logging $4.95 million in net inflows.
That “choppy” flow profile matters because it can influence short-term spot demand, particularly when broader crypto sentiment is split—Bitcoin strength is not automatically translating into sustained relative strength for ETH. This backdrop aligns with the article’s central observation: Ethereum remains under pressure in the near term even as Bitcoin gained over the last day.
Ethereum’s technical picture: $1,918 in focus
On the chart, Ethereum is trading slightly above its 20-day and 50-day exponential moving averages, positioned around $1,885 and $1,868, respectively. Those levels are acting as an immediate support zone. However, recovery appears capped for now by the 100-day EMA near $1,918, which is being treated as the key hurdle.
Momentum indicators provide a more constructive—though cautious—tone. The Relative Strength Index is near 54 and the Stochastic oscillator is around 63, suggesting improving buying pressure without signaling that ETH is already in an overbought condition. The next technical test is a decisive break above the 100-day EMA; doing so would expose a horizontal resistance area near $1,961.
Conversely, if ETH fails to sustain moves above the $1,918 region, the outlook shifts toward the 20-day and 50-day EMA support bands. A broader breakdown below that cluster would likely move attention to $1,809. If selling pressure intensifies, additional downside levels cited include $1,701 and $1,507.
Bigger picture: accumulation vs. relative performance
BitMine’s chairman, Thomas Lee, argued that Ethereum’s improving relative performance versus Bitcoin has reappeared, noting that the ETH/BTC ratio has broken above a one-year downtrend. He associated that change with Ethereum’s historically stronger relative returns during crypto bull markets, while pointing to prior cycle catalysts tied to different Ethereum use cases—initial coin offerings in 2017–2018, non-fungible tokens in 2020–2021, and stablecoin activity in 2025.
Lee’s updated framework centers on the next expansion cycle being driven by Wall Street firms placing traditional assets on blockchains and autonomous AI agents using blockchain networks to execute transactions. The company’s core claim is that Ethereum’s architecture could capture demand both as a settlement and utility layer and as staking collateral, reinforcing why it expects ETH to take share from BTC over the cycle.
Traders and investors will likely watch whether spot ETF flows continue to stabilize after Monday’s rebound and whether ETH can sustain trading above the 100-day EMA near $1,918. Over the coming sessions, technical confirmation (or rejection) around that level may set the tone for broader directional moves, while additional corporate updates and ongoing ETF flow data remain key near-term indicators.
