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Ethereum Steadies After Sharp Liquidations
Ethereum started the second week of October on a quiet note, holding steady after a wild few days. On Monday, October 12, Ethereum traded in a tight range between $2,510 and $2,565 (₹242,166 to ₹245,592). This comes right after a big shakeout last week (October 7–9) when over $1.02 billion in leveraged positions vanished from the market. Now, prices are calm, and Ethereum saw a modest intraday rise of 0.35% to 0.82%.
Ethereum’s market cap stays strong, between $302.8 billion and $308.5 billion. It’s still the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, holding about 13.8% of the market. Even though high U.S. Treasury yields and cautious ETF flows are slowing growth, Ethereum’s market activity looks healthy. Options open interest jumped to $5.92 billion, with over 61% focused on call options, meaning traders expect higher prices. Big wallets (“whales”) are also buying more ETH, and everyone’s watching the upcoming Glamsterdam mainnet upgrade.
Market Overview & Key Metrics
During the first trading sessions on October 12, Ethereum mostly moved sideways. After bouncing off $2,510 in the Asian markets, spot prices climbed towards $2,560 as Europe started trading.
Key Numbers
- Spot Price: $2,515 – $2,560 (₹242,166 – ₹245,592)
- 24-Hour Change: +0.35% to +0.82%
- Intraday Low: $2,510 (₹242,166)
- Intraday High: $2,565 (₹245,592)
- 7-Day Trend: -5.40% to -6.15% (recovering from last week’s liquidations)
- 30-Day Trend: +6.20%
- Options Open Interest: $5.92 billion (61.17% calls)
Main Drivers Shaping the Market
Options Market Grows
Ethereum’s options market keeps expanding. Total open interest hit $5.92 billion after a 1.63% jump in just one day. More than 61% of these positions are call options, and institutional traders are betting on price rises into late 2026, aiming for strikes between $2,750 and $3,200.
Derivatives Resetting the Board
The huge sell-off last week cleared out over $1.02 billion in leveraged long positions. Prices pulled back from $2,690 to as low as $2,495. Now, funding rates on futures platforms are back to almost neutral levels (about +0.005%), lowering the risk of more forced selling.
Whale Buying Offsetting ETF Outflows
Early October saw some withdrawals from Ethereum ETFs as big funds played it safe before inflation updates. But, on-chain data shows that large ETH holders used those dips to buy more coins, strengthening the zone between $2,480 and $2,500.
Technical Analysis
Ethereum is currently consolidating, holding above the 200-day simple moving average ($2,385). The 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) is 47.5, meaning momentum is neither overbought nor oversold.
Important Price Levels
- Immediate Resistance: $2,565 – $2,580 (needs to break this to continue higher)
- Next Resistance: $2,650 (then previous high at $2,775)
- Support 1: $2,495 – $2,510
- Major Support: $2,385 – $2,400 (matches the 200-day moving average)
Technical charts flashed a buy signal after last week’s drop, hinting at a possible short-term bounce.
On-Chain Activity & Ecosystem Health
Ethereum’s network activity looks solid:
- Staking: About 34.85 million ETH (almost 29% of supply) is locked up, limiting coins available for trading.
- Layer-2 Networks: Over 82% of transactions run on layer-2s like Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, and zkSync, keeping transaction fees low.
- Upcoming Tech Upgrade: Core developers are prepping for the Glamsterdam upgrade, which should make the network faster and more efficient.
Weekly Outlook: Where Next for ETH?
Here’s what traders are watching between October 12 and 18:
- Bullish Scenario: If ETH closes above $2,580, buyers might push for $2,650 and possibly retest $2,775.
- Base Case: ETH keeps trading between $2,500 and $2,580 as the market digests inflation news and whales continue to buy.
- Bearish Case: If ETH closes below $2,495, it could slide down to $2,400.
Summary Table
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Spot Price (USD) | $2,515 – $2,560 |
| Spot Price (INR) | ₹242,166 – ₹245,592 |
| 24-Hour Performance | +0.35% to +0.82% |
| Options Open Interest | $5.92 Billion (61.17% calls) |
| 200-Day SMA | $2,385 |
| Staked ETH | ~28.95% supply |
| Key Support | $2,495, $2,400, $2,385 |
| Key Resistance | $2,565, $2,580, $2,650 |
Disclaimer
All data here is for educational and informational use only, based on available data from October 12, 2026. This is not investment advice. Crypto is risky, so always do your own research before making trading decisions.
