Should you buy Ethereum in October 2022

Ethereum price has been in a consolidation phase in the past few days as the excitement about the recent Merge event faded. ETH was trading at $1,316 on Monday, which was much lower than August’s high of over $2,000. It has crashed by more than 60% in 2022.

Ethereum is in consolidation

ETH price has been in a tight range as investors wait for the next catalyst. The coin remains close to its lowest level since July 17th of this year. Notably, this price action mirror’s that of Bitcoin, which has remained at $20,000 in the past few weeks.

Ethereum has also consolidated at a time when American shares have been in freefall recently. The four main indices – Dow Jones, S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Russell 2000 – all declined by more than 10% in September while the US dollar index surged to the highest level in more than two decades.

Historically, Ethereum tends to have an inverse relationship with the US dollar. It also often tracks the performance of American indices, which are often seen as risk assets.

Ethereum consolidated as investors focused on the most recent merge event. This was an event that transitioned the network from a proof-of-work (PoW) to a proof-of-stake (PoS) platform. As a result, it has become a more environmentally-friendly platform.

A key issue is on what the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) will do. In his recent statements, Gary Gensler warned that Ethereum was transitioning into a security by letting people stake their coins for rewards. As such, it is unclear whether the agency will pursue the matter.

Meanwhile, Ethereum price remained under pressure as investors assess the deteriorating ecosystem. For example, recent data shows that NFT volume has crashed by 97% from its peak in January. Similarly, the volume of funds locked in Ethereum has crashed from over $150 billion to about $50 billion.

Ethereum price prediction

The daily chart shows that ETH/USD price has been in a consolidation phase and is trading at $1,317 where it has been in the past few days. It has dropped below the 25-day and 50-day moving averages while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is hovering above the oversold level.

Ethereum seems like it has formed a bearish flag pattern. Therefore, the coin will likely have a bearish breakout in the next few days as sellers target the next key support level at $1,000. As such, you should wait for a new bullish trend to form before you buy.