Ethereum (ETH) recently revisited a crucial support level close to $2,850, reigniting optimism among investors as the cryptocurrency prepares for the highly anticipated FUSAKA network upgrade set for December 3. On November 24, ETH climbed to $2,922—a 5% increase—hinting at a possible trend reversal after a volatile week. Historically, the $2,850 mark has served as a significant psychological threshold for the market.
This support is further strengthened by a notable decrease in Ethereum held on centralized exchanges, a pattern often linked to bullish market phases.
Institutional interest is increasingly shaping Ethereum’s short-term outlook. Spot Ethereum ETFs have seen positive inflows, amassing $230.9 million over three days. Large institutions now control more than 43% of the circulating ETH supply, reflecting growing trust in Ethereum’s fundamentals. The Federal Reserve’s anticipated end to quantitative tightening on December 1 is expected to boost liquidity for risk assets, further supporting positive sentiment. Additionally, Polymarket traders are assigning an 85% chance to a 25-basis-point rate cut in December, which is enhancing market confidence.
The upcoming FUSAKA upgrade represents Ethereum’s most significant technical advancement since The Merge. This update will introduce PeerDAS (Peer Data Availability Sampling), boosting the network’s data throughput by eight times and slashing Layer-2 transaction fees by as much as 90%. These improvements are expected to accelerate adoption in both decentralized finance (DeFi) and enterprise sectors, with analysts forecasting a notable increase in on-chain activity after the upgrade.
Additional enhancements include doubling the gas limit from 30 million to 60 million and adding support for secp256r1 cryptography, which will enable biometric authentication on devices such as iPhones.
Current technical signals indicate that Ethereum is consolidating, with its price fluctuating between $2,800 and $3,080. A decisive move above $3,080 could open the door to $3,250, while a drop below $2,800 may lead to a deeper correction. On-chain data shows that long-term investors have added 110,000 ETH to cold storage since November 20, suggesting strong underlying confidence. Meanwhile, open interest in derivatives markets has risen, with futures positions totaling $36.57 billion, pointing to increased leverage and expectations of heightened volatility.
Despite the positive momentum, risks remain. Should Ethereum dip below $3,000, liquidation volumes on centralized exchanges could reach $794 million. Tom Lee from Fundstrat anticipates a possible short-term decline to $2,500 before a potential rally toward $7,000–$9,000, contingent on continued institutional investment and stable macroeconomic conditions. Vitalik Buterin has also highlighted concerns about the risks posed by quantum computing by 2028 and the growing concentration of ETH holdings, with institutions now controlling 10.4% of the supply.
If the network upgrade coincides with improved liquidity and sustained ETF inflows, Ethereum could challenge the $3,550 level by mid-2026. Conversely, a fall below $2,800 may prompt a retest of the 2025 cycle low near $2,659.