FX.co ★ Another Consolidation Before a Drop

Bitcoin and Ethereum continue their attempts to rise, but each time they face obstacles, suggesting that this is more of a consolidation phase within an ongoing bearish correction rather than the beginning of a new bull market, which many traders are hoping for.Ethereum gained 1.46% following news that Foundation developers will launch a new test network, Hoodi. The long-term testnet is expected to go live next week, on March 17. This decision comes about a week after Ethereum researchers and developers met to discuss the issues surrounding the Holesky and Sepolia hard forks, both of which encountered problems.

According to experts, the Holesky testnet, one of Ethereum's two primary testing environments, lost functionality due to a configuration error about two weeks ago during the activation of the Pectra upgrade. While the network recovered on Monday, it remains partially unusable for certain research purposes.

The Pectra upgrade is a major update aimed at improving Ethereum's usability and scalability. It includes plans to reduce costs by increasing the number of "blob" transactions for Layer 2, significantly enhancing smart contract and wallet functionality.

Pectra could go live on Ethereum's mainnet as early as April 25, roughly 30 days after its scheduled deployment on the new Hoodi testnet. The Ethereum Foundation plans to invest significant resources into Hoodi, deploying a validator count similar to that of Ethereum's mainnet.

As of yesterday, developers have agreed to launch the new test network rather than explore alternative proposals. Hoodi aims to provide researchers with a dedicated environment for testing validator exits, something that was impossible on Holesky due to the backlog of validator exits.

As mentioned earlier, Ethereum reacted positively to this news, but it failed to generate significant growth.

Technical Outlook for Bitcoin (BTC/USD)

Buyers are currently targeting a return to the $83,000 level, which would open the way to $85,000 and subsequently $87,200. The ultimate target would be the $89,900 resistance, a breakout of which would signal a return to a medium-term bull market.

In the event of a decline, buyers are expected to step in at $80,900. A drop below this level could quickly push BTC down to $78,800, with the final bearish target at $76,800.

Technical Outlook for Ethereum (ETH/USD)

A clear breakout above the $1,929 level would pave the way for a move to $2,015. The ultimate target is the yearly high at $2,117, a breakout of which would signal a return to a medium-term bull market.

If Ethereum declines, buyers are expected at $1,848. A drop below this level could send ETH down to $1,767, with the final bearish target at $1,682.