Ether Surpasses $4,900 on Coinbase, Enters Price Discovery; Analysts Diverge on Next Moves
Ether (ETH) reached a new milestone Sunday, breaking above $4,900 on Coinbase at 5:40 p.m. UTC and exceeding its previous all-time high of $4,867 from November 2021.
The five-year ETH-USD chart on TradingView shows a clean breakout after years of consolidation. With no historical resistance above the 2021 peak, Ether is now in price discovery—where prices hit fresh highs without prior chart levels to guide traders, relying instead on market psychology and order flow.
Over the past five days, ETH climbed rapidly from the mid-$4,700s, breaking through $4,900 to hit an intraday high near $4,946.90. As of 6:48 p.m. UTC, ETH traded around $4,941.57. This pattern reflects buyers absorbing supply near previous highs and pushing prices higher—a classic breakout signal.
Analyst Miles Deutsher summarized the current market dynamic: “BTC is exhausted, ETH isn’t.” In other words, Bitcoin’s upward momentum is waning, while Ether continues to gain strength. An “exhausted” asset faces weakening rallies and seller pressure, whereas an asset that “isn’t” shows strong follow-through and active buying interest.
Crypto Rover pointed to declining ETH balances on centralized exchanges as a key factor. With fewer coins available on exchanges, a “supply shock” scenario emerges—scarcity can drive prices higher when demand grows, as buyers must compete more aggressively to acquire coins off-exchange.
However, analyst Michaël van de Poppe urged caution, noting the large weekly candle and the tendency for weekend breakouts to retrace when liquidity returns during the week. Weekend trading often sees thinner order books, which can amplify price moves. When Monday arrives with increased participation, prices may pull back to test the breakout level before continuing upward. Such a retracement would not undermine the broader bullish trend seen on the long-term chart.
