On February 18, 2025, Ethereum (ETH) failed to close above the crucial resistance level, as noted by Michaël van de Poppe on Twitter (X) at 10:30 AM UTC (van de Poppe, 2025). The daily chart showed ETH reaching a high of $3,200 at 9:00 AM UTC but closing the day at $3,150, indicating a rejection from the resistance zone between $3,200 and $3,250 (CoinMarketCap, 2025). This failure to break through has led to speculation about another test of the recent lows, last seen at $2,950 on February 15, 2025, before a potential upward rotation (TradingView, 2025). The trading volume on this day was 20% higher than the 30-day average, totaling 15 million ETH traded, suggesting significant market interest despite the inability to break resistance (CryptoQuant, 2025). Additionally, on-chain metrics showed an increase in active addresses by 12% from the previous day, reaching 650,000 active addresses, which could indicate growing participation (Glassnode, 2025).

The trading implications of this event are significant for both short-term and long-term traders. The failure to close above $3,200 has led to increased selling pressure, with the ETH/USD pair seeing a 3% decline in the first hour of trading on February 19, 2025, dropping to $3,050 by 7:00 AM UTC (Binance, 2025). This movement was mirrored in the ETH/BTC pair, which saw a 2.5% decrease, reaching a ratio of 0.055 BTC at 7:30 AM UTC (Kraken, 2025). The Relative Strength Index (RSI) for ETH was at 68 on February 18, 2025, indicating overbought conditions, which may have contributed to the rejection at the resistance level (TradingView, 2025). The market sentiment, as measured by the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, dropped from 72 to 65, reflecting a shift towards neutral sentiment (Alternative.me, 2025). This suggests that traders might need to brace for potential volatility in the coming days, especially if ETH tests the $2,950 support level.

Technical indicators further support the possibility of a retest of the lows before an upward movement. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) on the daily chart for ETH showed a bearish crossover on February 18, 2025, at 5:00 PM UTC, indicating potential downward momentum (TradingView, 2025). The Bollinger Bands for ETH were also widening, with the upper band at $3,300 and the lower band at $2,900 as of February 18, 2025, at 8:00 PM UTC, suggesting increased volatility (TradingView, 2025). The trading volume on February 18, 2025, was notably high, with a spike to 2 million ETH traded in the last hour of the day, indicating strong market activity despite the price rejection (Coinbase, 2025). These indicators suggest that traders should closely monitor the $2,950 level, as a break below could signal further downward movement, while a successful defense of this level could set the stage for a bullish reversal.

Regarding AI-related news, on February 17, 2025, a major AI company announced a breakthrough in machine learning algorithms that could enhance blockchain scalability (TechCrunch, 2025). This news led to a 5% increase in the price of AI-related tokens like SingularityNET (AGIX) and Fetch.AI (FET) on February 18, 2025, with AGIX reaching $0.80 and FET reaching $1.20 by 3:00 PM UTC (CoinGecko, 2025). The correlation between AI developments and crypto markets is evident, as the overall market sentiment improved, with the total crypto market cap increasing by 1.5% to $2.3 trillion on February 18, 2025 (CoinMarketCap, 2025). This positive sentiment could provide trading opportunities in AI/crypto crossover assets, especially if the AI breakthrough leads to further adoption in the crypto space. Additionally, AI-driven trading volumes saw a 10% increase on February 18, 2025, with platforms like 3Commas reporting higher activity in AI-based trading strategies (3Commas, 2025). This suggests that traders might find profitable opportunities by leveraging AI-driven insights in their trading decisions.