ETH Slips Below $1,665 and 100-Hour SMA After Trend Line Break Stalls Recovery

Ethereum ($ETH) cracked a bullish trend line that had been holding near $1,700 on the hourly chart, extending a retreat from the $1,720 area and dragging the token below both $1,665 and its 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. The hourly MACD is building momentum in the bearish zone and the RSI has dropped beneath the 50 level, leaving bulls with limited technical cover. Whether buyers can defend $1,610 — the level where demand briefly materialized — will determine whether this is a shake-out or the start of a more serious leg down.

How the Breakdown Developed

The move lower followed a failed attempt to hold above $1,700. Once that level gave way, selling accelerated through $1,680 and then $1,665, pushing ETH below the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement of the prior upward swing that ran from the $1,505 low to the $1,719 high. That retracement break matters because it signals that more than half the technical case for the rally has unwound. Bitcoin showed similar behavior, suggesting this is a broader market-structure problem rather than an Ethereum-specific catalyst — though the source attributes no specific cause beyond price action.

The Level Bulls Need to Hold

Buyers showed up near $1,610 during the initial flush, which is the first line worth watching. Below that sits the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement of the same $1,505-to-$1,719 swing, landing near $1,585 — a zone the source identifies as the first major support. A confirmed break there opens the path toward $1,550, then $1,520, with $1,500 described as the main floor. That would erase the bulk of the move off the prior low, a scenario that should interest anyone who bought the $1,505 area on the premise of a sustained recovery.

What a Recovery Requires

To shift the bias back to positive, ETH needs to reclaim $1,680 and then clear $1,710, which is flagged as the next major resistance on the hourly chart. Neither level looks easy given that both the trend line and the moving average are now overhead rather than supportive. A sustained push above $1,710 would put $1,750 in focus, and the source notes that a break above that region could extend gains toward $1,840 or $1,850. That is a long way from current trading, and each resistance band represents a fresh opportunity for sellers to reload.

Key Levels to Watch

The technical picture, based on Kraken feed data, reduces to a narrow corridor. $1,665 and $1,680 are immediate resistance; $1,710 is the level that separates a corrective bounce from a genuine trend reversal. On the downside, $1,610 and $1,585 are the first two meaningful supports, with $1,550 as the major floor the source flags. Until hourly MACD exits the bearish zone and RSI reclaims 50, the structure favors sellers pressing the position rather than buyers stepping in front of the momentum.