Ethereum Price Analysis: Steven McClurg is bearish on ETH, as old technologies are quickly being replaced by Solana and Sui public chains.

On August 18, during the Asian session, Ethereum (ETH) retraced to around $4,318. Recently, long positions have benefited from institutional capital inflow and a warming market sentiment, but prices have cooled this week. Steven McClurg, CEO of Canary Capital, is skeptical about the long-term prospects of ETH, believing it may lag behind Bitcoin (BTC) as it continues to surge.

McClurg: ETH is “old technology”, lagging behind the new generation of public chains

McClurg stated that although ETH’s market capitalization remains second in the world, its technology has been surpassed by faster and cheaper blockchains like Solana and Sui. He pointed out that while Canary Capital promotes various altcoin ETFs (including XRP, Hedera, CRO, and meme coins on Solana), it deliberately avoids Ethereum ETFs.

This perspective contrasts sharply with the prevailing optimism in the market. Amberdata’s derivatives director Greg Magadini likened Ethereum’s developer ecosystem to the iPhone application platform and predicted that the price of ETH could rise to $8,000–$10,000.

Institutional capital inflow hits record high, driving ETH’s strong rebound

In August 2025, the spot ETH ETF attracted over $3 billion in capital inflow, far exceeding the scale of the BTC ETF during the same period.

Since June, Bitmine Immersion Technologies and institutions like Sharplink Gaming have cumulatively bought over 2 million ETH, driving ETH to decisively break through $4,000.

Even traditional banks are starting to take long positions on ETH:

1. Standard Chartered Bank has raised its year-end target price from $4,000 to $7,500.

2. Fundstrat co-founder Thomas Lee predicts that ETH could eventually reach $15,000.

Whale Movements: Short-term Selling Pressure or Long-term Confidence?

On-chain data shows that a long-term holding whale redeemed 10,819 ETH (worth about 20.6 million USD) after a year and a half and transferred it to a CEX exchange, while earning 2.48 million USD in interest, resulting in a portfolio appreciation of 18.2 million USD.

Although this may bring short-term selling pressure, it also shows that long-term holders still have confidence in ETH.

Technical Analysis: Long Positions Targeting 4,965 USD

RSI: 57, momentum is strengthening but not overheated

MACD: Approaching a bullish crossover, indicating a resurgence in long positions momentum.

Key Price Level:

Resistance level: $4,610 → Target after breakout $4,795, further looking towards $4,965

Support level: After testing $4,375, it may further探 4,170.

Trading Strategy:

Aggressive: Buy above $4,610, set stop loss below $4,435, target $4,965

Conservative: Wait for support levels to appear and look for bullish K-line patterns (such as hammer candlestick, engulfing pattern) before entering.

Conclusion

Although McClurg has doubts about the long-term competitiveness of ETH, the strong inflow of institutional funds and the improvement in technical aspects are pushing ETH towards higher price levels. In the short term, a breakout above $4,610 will be key for long positions to challenge $4,965.