4 warning signs that Ethereum (ETH) price may struggle to recover in the final days of the year.

Ethereum (ETH) has remained in a sideways trading pattern around $3,000 for nearly two weeks, despite buying pressure from institutions such as BitMine Immersion Technologies and Trend Research. However, on-chain and derivative data suggest that overall demand is still not strong enough to generate clear recovery momentum, while selling pressure continues to prevail.

According to CryptoQuant, ETH reserves on exchanges reversed their upward trend in December, rising from 16.2 million to 16.6 million ETH in just one week, equivalent to approximately 400,000 ETH being transferred to exchanges. Notably, a long-time whale deposited 100,000 ETH onto Binance. While institutions bought over 114,000 ETH during the same period, this figure is still lower than the amount of ETH being transferred to exchanges, increasing the risk of short-term selling.

In the derivatives market, ETH's Estimated Leverage Ratio has returned to high levels, nearing the levels recorded during the major liquidation in October. High leverage makes ETH more sensitive to small fluctuations, increasing the risk of chain liquidations.

Furthermore, the Coinbase Premium index continued to remain in deep negative territory in December, reflecting selling pressure from US investors. ETH ETF inflows also recorded their second consecutive month of net outflows, indicating a lack of new institutional capital.

Considering all of the above factors, ETH is likely to continue consolidating or face downward pressure in the final days of the year, requiring investors to exercise greater caution in risk management.

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