Pro traders aren’t buying ETH’s recent rally and data shows they expect Ether price to retrace if Fed chair Powell takes a hawkish tone on Wednesday.
Ether (ETH) rallied 6.3% to $1,350 on Dec. 13, mimicking a similar failed attempt that took place on Nov. 10. Despite reaching the highest level in 33 days, the gains were not enough to instill confidence in traders according to two key derivatives metrics.
Bulls' frustrations can partially be explained by Binance facing a near-record $1.1 billion in withdrawals over a 24-hour period. The unusual behavior comes as the exchange attempts to put out multiple disputes about its proof of reserves and overall solvency on crypto Twitter. According to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, the social media posts amount to nothing more than FUD.
However, Binance's USD Coin (USDC) reserves were emptied after alleged troubles with commercial banking hours.
The negative newsflow continued on Dec. 13, as the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed charges against Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of now-bankrupt FTX crypto exchange. The fresh charges come just a day after his arrest by Bahamian authorities at the request of the U.S. government.
On Dec. 13, the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) also filed a lawsuit against Bankman-Fried, FTX and Alameda Research, claiming violations of the Commodity Exchange Act. It demanded a jury trial.
Traders are relieved that Ether is trading above the $1,300 level, but the rebound has been mostly driven by the Consumer Price Index print for November at 7.1% year-on-year, which was a tad bit softer than expected. More importantly, the U.S. Federal Reserve is scheduled to decide on the latest interest rate hike on Dec. 14, with analysts expecting the pace of rate hikes to decline now that inflation appears to have peaked.
Source: Ethereum rallies to $1,350, but derivatives metrics remain neutral to bearish
