Ethereum

Ethereum's derivatives flow on Binance is showing early signs of a changing market structure, with the Taker Buy Sell Ratio moving away from persistent sell-side dominance while ETH price remains in a corrective phase. CryptoQuant contributor Darkfost notes that the monthly ratio, previously below 1 with readings such as 0.95 and a weekly 0.92, has recovered toward 0.99 and recently posted daily spikes above 1.12. At the time of reporting, ETH was trading around $2,028, as traders watch whether a sustained move in the ratio above 1 could confirm a shift toward buyer control in the futures market.

U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted about $1.02 billion in net inflows from Tuesday to Thursday, while Bitcoin traded below its all-time high. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust led the rebound after five weeks of net outflows, and spot Ether and Solana ETFs also recorded positive flows over the same period. Several analysts noted that the roughly 50% drawdown in Bitcoin may be nearing exhaustion, although they warned a sharp V-shaped recovery remains unlikely.

The Ethereum Foundation's Strawmap sets a 2029 target to lift Layer 1 capacity to about 10,000 TPS, roughly 1 gigagas per second, and cut finality from around 16 minutes to 6–16 seconds, delivered via up to seven hard forks on a six‑month cadence. The plan reframes L1 as a faster settlement layer alongside L2 scale, while traders are watching $2,150 resistance, $2,000 as a pivot, and $1,920–$1,800 as support.

In the last reported session, spot ETF demand concentrated in Bitcoin and XRP, with the article citing roughly $254M and $1.22M in net additions as broader prices consolidated. BTC hovered near $67,678.78 on 24‑hour volume of about $41.05B, while ETH, SOL, and XRP posted mixed daily moves but maintained steady liquidity.

On Feb. 27, about 115,500 Bitcoin options worth roughly $7.8 billion and 477,000 Ethereum contracts with a $963 million notional are due to expire. Coinglass places Bitcoin's max pain near $75,000, while Deribit notes call open interest dominance and a put/call ratio of 0.76 for BTC and 0.77 for ETH. The combined expiries approach $9 billion as spot markets weaken.

Ethereum outlined a draft "Strawmap" extending upgrades through 2029 to evolve into a high‑performance Gigagas network with lower latency and faster finality. The plan explores erasure coding and P2P changes alongside a BFT‑style finality path. As of late February 2026, ETH hovered near $2,066 after a 6.5% rebound, while sentiment remained volatile.

Swyftx lead analyst Pav Hundal said on Thursday that Ether has already absorbed much of the short-term macro risk and industry news, making a period of subdued, sideways price action likely. He argued that confidence is still recovering from October's $19 billion liquidation cascade and that weak consumer sentiment, reflected in an "Extreme Fear" reading on the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, remains a key overhang even as large holders like BitMine Immersion Technologies keep adding to their Ether positions.

Ethereum climbed from the $1,792 area, broke above $2,020 and $2,050, and briefly reached $2,158 before pulling back toward support near $2,000. The price is now trading above $2,020 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average, with key resistance levels seen around $2,040, $2,080 and $2,120, while supports are clustered near $2,000 and $1,975.

Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake has unveiled the Strawmap, a long-term coordination plan that envisions seven network forks by 2029 and five core aims across speed, scale, security, and privacy. The framework offers investors a timeline to judge execution as the market debates whether ETH can credibly advance toward a $10,000 valuation.

Ether briefly climbed above $2,000 and set a weekly high near $2,150, a level that matches the realized price of wallets holding at least 100,000 ETH. Derivatives data show over $220 million in short liquidations and a funding rate rebound into positive territory, while analysts continue to watch support around $1,800 and potential downside toward the $1,500 area.