Ethereum Eyes 20% Pump if This Pattern Breaks

In Brief

• Ethereum continues to struggle to reclaim and hold the critical $3,000 level.
• Analysts say a confirmed breakout could trigger a notable upside move.
• Strong on-chain fundamentals keep expectations cautiously optimistic heading into 2026.

Ethereum has failed several times to break $3,000 and hold the price above this level. Unfortunately, this break is a critical requirement for Ethereum’s success. If it succeeds in breaking this range, it could pump higher.

Top crypto analyst Ted Pillows says if the asset succeeds in breaking out, it could see a pump between 15 to 20% in a few weeks from now. Interestingly, this has been the narrative for Ethereum in most of 2025, with no success recorded.

$ETH is still doing absolutely nothing.

Maybe a new year will result in a breakout above the $3,000 level.

If that happens, Ethereum could pump 15%-20% in a few weeks. pic.twitter.com/wEjdW77uyz

— Ted (@TedPillows) January 1, 2026

Will the New Year Change Things for Ethereum?

Ethereum struggled under $3,000 in 2025, a critical level that has played a major role in determining its macro trend. This struggle has been mainly due to a weak momentum which experts have associated with a shift in investor behavior and a break in the typical 4-year crypto cycle.

However, there were also indicators that suggested 2026 would be a better year for ethereum. First, the fundamentals have been strong, such as the uptick in the number of active wallet addresses. There has also been a massive buying of the asset that should result in a strong momentum with the ability to break above $3,000.

Since such strength to break out did not manifest in 2025, analysts and indeed investors are hoping that it will bring better results in 2026 for the asset. Pillows says the new year may play a role in strengthening Ethereum to push above this level and rise higher to new price levels in the coming weeks.

After severally tapping this level with no success in holding above it, analysts fear that this could result in a breakdown where Ethereum could head to prices as low as $2,000. The asset’s strong fundamentals may jump to the rescue and reverse the trend though, so eyes remain peeled to see what happens.

Ethereum is Close, But Not There Yet

While Ethereum has failed to break above and hold $3,000, it hasn’t lost control completely either. For the past several days, the price has been under this level, but hasn’t dropped towards the $2,700-$2,800 range.

It is currently trading at $2,983, just below $3,000 but well above the critical support level. This shows that momentum may be building up, although it has not reached the threshold to break the resistance yet.