Ethereum (ETH) has been caught in a bout of consolidation within the mid-$180 region, which has been largely guided by Bitcoin’s inability to garner any momentum that pushes it away from the lower-$9,000 region, which is where it has been trading for the past several days. Now, analysts are noting that ETH may be positioned for a retrace towards $170 in the near-term as it also faces an ongoing decline in on-chain volume.

Ethereum Consolidates as Analysts Target a Downside Movement 

At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading up 2% at its of $185, which marks a slight climb from its recent lows of $177 that were set last week.

It is important to note that has been caught in a trading range between roughly $180 and $190 over the past several weeks, which is largely the result of Bitcoin’s bout of consolidation between $9,000 and $9,500.

Regardless of how Bitcoin trades in the near-term, Ethereum may soon incur a downside movement that takes it as low as $170, which is where its “golden fib ratio” currently exists.

The Cryptomist, a popular cryptocurrency analyst on Twitter, explained this possibility in a recent tweet, noting that ETH’s near-term target exists at $176, while its mid-term target exists at $170.

“$ETH Broken down from rising wedge from last month. Fall is not over in my opinion. Next target is 176 at .5 fib level. I do think we will go to golden ratio at .618 fib at $170,” she explained while pointing to the chart seen below.

//twitter.com/TheCryptomist/status/94519296

ETH On-Chain Volume Declines  

One factor that could potential perpetuate any downside movement experienced by in the near-term is the fact that its on-chain volume has been declining as of late, which can make all crypto assets more prone to downside movements. TokenAnalyst, a popular cryptocurrency analytics group on Twitter, spoke about this in a recent tweet, noting that the cryptocurrency’s on-chain volume has declined nearly 20% over the past 24-hours.

“24H #ETH Network Stats: Price: $181.82 (-0.5%). $ETH On-Chain Volume: $290M (-18.3%). Active Senders: 238K (+0.5%). Active Recipients: 93K (-4.4%),” they explained.

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📢 24H Network Stats:

💲 Price: $181.82 (-0.5%)
💵 On-Chain Volume: $290M (-18.3%)
👈 Active Senders: 238K (+0.5%)
👉 Active Recipients: 93K (-4.4%)

Visit for more info — TokenAnalyst (@thetokenanalyst)

As Ethereum’s on-chain volume declines and bulls fail to build any noteworthy strength, it does appear to be a strong possibility that the crypto could decline further before it finds enough buying pressure to propel its price higher.

Featured image from Shutterstock.