Ether needs to reclaim the “macro” range above the $2,200 mark to amass more upside momentum as crypto markets remain pressured by global macroeconomic concerns until at least the beginning of April. Ether ( ETH ) price is down over 51% during its three-month downtrend after it peaked above $4,100 on Dec. 16, 2024, TradingView data shows. ETH/USD, 1-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/ TradingView To stage a reversal from thncoinglis downtrend, Ether price needs to reclaim the “macro range” above $2,200, wrote popular crypto analyst Rekt Capital in a March 19 X post : “If price can generate a strong enough reaction here, then #ETH will be able to reclaim the $2,196-$3,900 Macro Range (black).” ETH/USD, monthly chart. Source: Rekt Capital Meanwhile, Ether's open interest surged to a new all-time high on March 21, raising investor hopes that large traders are positioning for a rally above $2,400. Ether futures aggregate open interest, ETH. Source: CoinGlass Ether remains unable to gain significant momentum despite positive crypto regulatory developments, such as the US Securities and Exchange Commission dropping the lawsuit against Ripple . Some analysts expect traditional and cryptocurrency markets to be pressured by global trade war concerns until at least the beginning of April, when countries may find a resolution to the retaliatory tariffs. Related: Trader nets $480K with 1,500x return before BNB memecoin crashes 50% ETH whales only ones buying: Nansen analyst While some crypto traders often blame large investors, or whales, for market downturns, these participants are simply “playing the market in any direction,” according to Nicolai Sondergaard, a research analyst at Nansen. The analyst said during Cointelegraph’s Chainreaction daily X show on March 21: “The ETH whales in the 10k to 100k have actually been accumulating ETH, whereas everyone else has been dumping.” The Crypto Debanking Crisis: #CHAINREACTION https://t.co/nD4qkkzKnB — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) March 21, 2025 Related: Bitcoin’s next catalyst: End of $36T US debt ceiling suspension The number of addresses with at least $100,000 worth of Ether started rising at the beginning of March, from just over 70,000 addresses on March 10 to over 75,000 on March 22, Glassnode data shows. ETH: Number of Addresses with Balance ≥ $100k. Year-to-date chart. Source: Glassnode In comparison, there were over 146,000 wallets with over $100,000 in ETH balance on Dec. 8, when Ether's price was trading above $4,000. Despite the potential for short-term volatility, investors remain optimistic for the rest of 2025, VanEck predicted a $6,000 cycle top for Ether’s price and a $180,000 Bitcoin ( BTC ) price during 2025. Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered