While Ethereum (ETH) attempts to turn a crucial level into support, some analysts have shared a bullish outlook for the cryptocurrency, which could send its price above the $4,000 barrier in the first quarter of 2026.
End-Of-Year Weakness To Ignite Q1 RallyOn Monday, Ethereum broke above the $3,200 barrier for the first time in nearly a month, hitting a four-week high of $3,259. The cryptocurrency has seen a 8.3% surge from the crucial $3,000 level since Friday, consolidating above the $3,100 level over the weekend.
This marks ETH’s first negative Q4 close since 2022, and its worst end-of-year performance since 2019, when it registered a negative return of 28.9%. Nonetheless, Niels highlighted that this opens the door for an “interesting” setup ahead of the altcoin’s expected seasonality.
“History tells an interesting story: every single time ETH has finished Q4 in the red, the next Q1 has closed green,” the analyst explained, asserting that “year-end weakness has usually acted as a reset, not a reversal.”
“If that pattern holds, Q4 wasn’t the warning; it was the setup heading into Q1,” he suggested.
Ethereum Prepares For 30% BreakoutSince the early November pullback, the largest altcoin by market capitalization has been trading between the $2,700-$3,400 price range, experiencing strong resistance around the $3,000 and $3,200 levels.
On the contrary, a rejection from this resistance zone could send the ETH price toward the $3,000 support, while risking a longer consolidation within its two-month range.
If the price holds its current breakout from the upper boundary, the cryptocurrency could see a rally toward the $4,000 area in the coming weeks, positioning ETH for a retest of the Q3 levels.
As of this writing, Ethereum is trading at $3,253, a 3.4% increase in the daily timeframe.
