Ethereum’s price has experienced a decline of over 5% in the past 24 hours, registering at around $2,700 on February 22. This dip is attributed to a major security breach at the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit, growing speculation about an Ethereum hard fork, and a bearish technical pattern.
The Bybit hack emerged as a significant factor, where hackers managed to infiltrate one of Bybit’s cold wallets, absconding with over $1 billion in various Ethereum tokens. On February 21, it was reported that more than 401,000 ETH, along with staked tokens, were part of the theft. Investigators linked the attack to the North Korean Lazarus Group via transaction trails, suggesting that the stolen assets might eventually be liquidated. Despite the setback, Bybit’s CEO assured customers of the exchange’s solvency and secured a bridge loan to cover 80% of the lost funds, ensuring withdrawals are not impacted.
Amid this, discussions have ignited within the cryptocurrency community around the possibility of the Ethereum Foundation executing a blockchain rollback, akin to the strategy employed during the 2016 DAO hack, which could recover the stolen assets. Influential voices in the space have either criticized or called for a rollback. Notable among them, Matthew R. Kratter and Arthur Hayes have put forth arguments regarding the ethical and technological implications of such a decision. However, the Ethereum Foundation and its co-founder Vitalik Buterin have yet to make any formal statements or decisions on the matter.
Technically, Ethereum’s price movement is further pressured by what analysts identify as a bear pennant pattern. Should this pattern confirm, it could indicate a potential further drop to around $1,953, representing an additional decline of up to 28% by March. This bearish sentiment is exacerbated by a neutral-to-bearish Relative Strength Index (RSI) reading, hinting at ongoing downside pressure.
These factors collectively contribute to the current uncertainty and volatility surrounding Ethereum’s market, reflecting broader security and governance challenges within the cryptocurrency sector.
