After a disappointing performance in February, the price of Ethereum has seen some relief over the past two weeks. With a stable market situation, the “king of altcoins” managed to keep itself around the psychological level of $2,000.
It is expected that this was enough to awaken the hopes of silent investors in the future of the Ether token; However, a market analyst revealed reasons to believe that Ethereum buyers can sit on their hands – at least for now.
Multiple indicators are converging to reflect high market pressure
In a recent post on social media platform X, chain analyst Boris highlighted data from three metrics that indicate the Ethereum market is seeing an increase in pressure. According to the analyst, if current conditions persist, a capitulation phase could be on the horizon for the second largest cryptocurrency.
The market expert began his analysis with the Net Unofficial Profit/Loss (NUPL) metric, which measures investors’ overall profit or loss by comparing the market value of ETH to the price at which the last coins were transferred on-chain. In his post, Boris shared that NUPL is currently in the negative, suggesting that Ethereum investors may be holding back due to unexpected losses.
Ethereum may be approaching a major capitulation zone
A few key signals fit in the chain:
• NUPL: Negative → Investors have unrealized losses
• Price: Below Realized Value (~$2.2K) → Market is still under pressure
• Profit days: 1.34K-days profit… pic.twitter.com/rHNw1Pn0i8– Boris. (@fundingvest) March 12, 2026
Another important metric mentioned was the active price index, which represents the average price at which all circulating coins were last transferred to the chain. Boris noted on Twitter that the altcoin is currently trading below $2,200.
When the market falls below this level, it indicates that the average Ethereum investor is holding through losses. Therefore, this chain signal is felt as a pressure level by Ethereum investors, as the market price fluctuates below the strike price.
Source: @Fundingvest on X
Furthermore, Boris mentioned in his analysis the number of days spent in the profit metric, saying that the Ethereum network recently ended an impressive streak of 1,340 days, during which the majority of Ether tokens in circulation remained profitable.
The analyst explained that this is often a signal of the end of a market cycle – an assumption that is consistent with historical events and tends to be nearing the end of bear markets.
Despite the current conditions, Boris warned that the NUPL still needs to move deeper into the -0.5 to -1 surrender zone before a bottom is formed. If the price of Ethereum goes through the next round of selling, the metric may enter the surrender zone, where several investors will be forced to lose their positions – an event that is likely to be used by long-term traders (diamond hands).
Ethereum price at a glance
As of this writing, the price of Ethereum is around $2,092, reflecting a decline of more than 1% since the previous day.
The price of ETH on the daily timeframe | Source: ETHUSDT chart on TradingView
Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView
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