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AltcoinVector notes that Ethereum’s inherent strength has pushed it ahead of the market even while Bitcoin lacks a clear direction. This trend is unusual because ETH typically leads during Bitcoin consolidation phases, not when BTC is moving sideways.
The current structure shows Ethereum stepping into that leadership role earlier than expected, signaling a possible change in market dynamics.
Analyst Michael van de Poppe reinforces this view, despite his expectation that Bitcoin could still test the $100K region and extend well beyond it. The analyst argues that Ethereum has already begun outperforming Bitcoin in recent weeks, firmly holding above its 20-day moving average and gradually accelerating.
In Poppe’s outlook, an eventual move by Bitcoin toward $115K would place Ethereum close to a new all-time high once momentum builds.



 However, short-term sentiment is fragile after Ethereum fell 4.4% in the past 24 hours, dropping to $3,198 on CoinMarketCap. The decline reflects the combined pressure of the Federal Reserve’s “hawkish” rate-cut message, targeted profit-taking by whales, and a technical breakdown that forced ETH below key support zones.
Data from CoinMarketCap shows that institutions sold into the brief post-Fed bounce, triggering retail panic and accelerating exchange inflows.
Market watchers now point to $3,000 as the critical level that will determine whether the correction deepens or stabilizes. Besides, indicators such as hourly RSI divergences and inflow patterns will guide expectations in the coming sessions.
Despite the near-term weakness, Ethereum’s underlying fundamentals continue to improve. For instance, the Fusaka upgrade introduced PeerDAS for cheaper Layer-2 transactions, expanded blob capacity, added new cryptographic support, and implemented fees designed to stabilize rollup costs.
Earlier in the year, the gas limit increased to 60 million, enabling roughly 15% more transactions per block, but it also placed additional pressure on under-optimized nodes.
These advances reinforce the long-term case for Ethereum even as the market waits to see whether it can reclaim momentum above $3,000.
