Ethereum Price Drops 52%, But BlackRock’s ETH Fund Surges 364%: Is a $1,660 Breakout Coming?

Ethereum is off to a rough start in 2025, dropping over 52% in price. However, on the flip side, BlackRock’s BUIDL token fund is heavily invested in Ethereum, and the AUM (assets under management) increased 364.65%. This divergence between institutional growth and Ethereum price declines begs the question of what this means. Is Ethereum still undervalued, or is this a sign of deeper market concerns? While the price of ETH may be struggling, the growing ETH institutional confidence might suggest a very different future for the asset.

What’s Behind the ETH Institutional Confidence?

As of April 16, 2025, BlackRock’s Ethereum asset fund has found its assets have increased from $100 million to $464.65 million YTD. This is with ETH trading and steadily declining prices. This should indicate the increasing institutional confidence as the ETH market sentiment remains bearish. At the same time, the ETH/USD and ETH/BTC pairs also saw increased volatility and volume, with the volume up 30% from the previous day. Retail traders are beginning to react. Are retail investors setting themselves up for a rebound based on BlackRock’s investment thesis? Only time will tell, but market activity appears to be picking up.

Ethereum’s Ripple Effect on AI Tokens

Interestingly, this news has greatly impacted other parts of the crypto market. AI tokens like SingularityNET (AGIX) and Fetch.ai (FET) have seen their prices rise following the news about BlackRock’s fund performance. With trading volumes spiking and sentiment turning more optimistic, these AI-driven projects are benefiting from Ethereum’s positive vibes. The relationship between Ethereum and AI tokens is becoming clearer, as one rises, the other tends to follow. As Ethereum continues to build its dominance in areas like DeFi and AI, the ripple effect on Ethereum market trends is hard to ignore. Let’s dive into the latest Ethereum price action to see where the asset might be headed.

Ethereum Price Action Analysis of April 16th, 2025

The chart showcases Ethereum price activity over a short-term 5-minute interval, revealing three key structural phases: a prior trading range, a subsequent descending channel, and recent signs of potential reversal. Initially, ETH traded within a narrow range, between $1,615 and $1,650, indicating some level of market indecision. Ultimately, a strong rejection in a resistance zone around $1,660 created a sentiment shift, marking the start of a strong downtrend within a descending channel The downtrend produced lower highs and lower lows, marked by multiple bearish Death Cross on the MACD with an accompanying oversold RSI helping to confirm bearish strength throughout the downtrend.

Chart 1, Analyzed by Alokkp0608, published on April 16th, 2025

As the price approached the strong support level at $1,560, RSI entered deep oversold territory multiple times, suggesting waning bearish momentum. Concurrently, the MACD began showing repeated Golden Cross signals, hinting at an emerging bullish divergence. These indicators align with the recent bounce observed off support, indicating early bullish intent. However, the price is still trading well below the key resistance zone and has yet to break out of the broader bearish structure. Unless price breaks above $1,600 with increased volume, this rebound may remain corrective.

Ethereum at a Crucial Crossroads

Ethereum finds itself at a pivotal moment. On one hand, BlackRock’s strong backing and the impressive growth of its Ethereum-focused fund suggest long-term ETH institutional confidence. In contrast, the price action for ETH depicts signs of struggle; however, recent technical signals indicate a potential bounce. The recent bounce from key support levels and the bullish signals from RSI and MACD indicate that a potential bounce may occur. Nonetheless, for ETH to break the downtrend entirely, it will need to break the $1,600 level, with volume applicable. Traders should monitor these levels to see if a trend reversal in Ethereum price is on the cusp.