Ethereum (ETH) Price May Be at Risk of a Bigger Dive as the Market Came to Terms with the $1.4 Billion Hack by the Lazarus Group

Ethereum (ETH) traded at $2,795 on Sunday, a few points above last Friday’s low of $2,665. It remains about 32% below the highest level in December last year.

Ethereum price remained largely steady on Sunday evening as the market continued digesting the $1.4 billion hack by the Lazarus Group. At the time of writing, ETH traded at $2,795, just a few points above last Friday’s low of $2,665. It remains about 32% below the highest level in December last year.

Coinglass data showed that Ethereum balances on Bybit have started rising after crashing on Friday following the hack. Balances rose to over 200,000 or $558 million, up from last Friday’s low of 61,000.

There are two potential reasons for the ongoing rise in Ethereum balances on Bybit. First, there is a likelihood that Bybit is actively buying ETH from the market as it seeks to boost confidence with its users.

Another potential reason for the ongoing rise in Ethereum balances on Bybit is that customers are transferring their ETH to the exchange as confidence rises. This is because Bybit has maintained that it will cover 100% of the stolen Ethereum coins. In addition to this, Bybit has also launched a $140 million bounty to help track down the stolen funds, a move that may see part of them returned.

These events are unfolding after North Korea’s Lazarus Group is said to have accessed Bybit’s cold wallets and stole ETH tokens valued at $1.4 billion. In addition to its scale, this hack also raised concerns about the safety of crypto assets stored in cold wallets, especially by exchanges.

Ethereum price may be at risk of a bigger dive

On the daily chart, we see that Ethereum may be at risk of a bigger near-term dive. Already, the token has formed a death cross pattern as the 200-day and 50-day weighted moving averages (WMA) crossed each other. This is one of the most bearish chart patterns in technical analysis.

Further, Ethereum price has also formed a bearish flag chart pattern, which is a popular continuation pattern. This pattern has a vertical line of movement followed by a consolidation. Notably, this consolidation also resembles a rising wedge pattern.

Therefore, we should expect to see the ETH token making a bearish breakdown move, with the next key reference level being at $2,155, the lowest point this year and about 23% from the current levels. On the bullish side, a breakout above the 200-day WMA point at $3,085 will invalidate this bearish outlook.