Sideways Now, But When This Breaks… ETH Could Go Straight to $5K

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Simon Chandler

Author

Simon Chandler

Part of the Team Since

Jan 2018

About Author

Simon Chandler is a Brighton-based writer and journalist with over ten years of experience writing about crypto, technology, politics and culture. He has written for Cryptonews.com since late 2017,…

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Last updated: 

January 27, 2026

The Ethereum price has regained $2,922 today, having dropped as low as $2,800 on Sunday after a difficult weekend for the cryptocurrency market.

Despite its modest gain, ETH remains down by 6% in a week and by 7% in a fortnight, with the market’s biggest altcoin also posting a 4% decline in a year.

However, its fundamental position remains enviably strong, with prominent ‘long-term investor’ Jelle stating that he expects it to “outperform” once Bitcoin initiates a market-wide rebound.

And with Ethereum remaining the biggest layer-one network in crypto, the long-term Ethereum price prediction continues to look hugely positive for 2026.

Ethereum Price Prediction: Sideways Now, But When This Breaks… ETH Could Go Straight to $5K

Providing a ‘positioning update’ on X, crypto investor Jelle highlighted how Bitcoin remains above its weekly support, while macroeconomic conditions are evolving in a way that will ultimately drive demand for BTC.

As such, Jelle plans to hold his BTC and wait for the eventual rally, with the investor offering a similar assessment for Ethereum.

As noted above, the investor expects Ethereum to outperform the market average once things become more bullish, although he admits that if it drops below the $2,500 support level he may “have to re-assess.”

If we look at the Ethereum price chart today, we see that it may be nearing a big move, with a pennant forming since October.

Its RSI (yellow) and MACD (orange, blue) have recently hit what could be bottoms, preparing the altcoin to make a significant upwards correction.

Based on this, and based on analysis from the likes of Jelle, we could see the Ethereum price retake $3,000 within the next week, and then move up to $3,500 by the end of February.

And because Ethereum is the biggest layer-one in terms of TVL, and is also leading the charge in terms of tokenization, it’s long-term price prediction is hugely bullish.

It could reach $4,000 in Q2, break the $5,000 barrier in H2, and then breach $6,500 in Q4.

This will depend on macroeconomic conditions, but if circumstances permit, Ethereum has the potential to rocket.

As strong as Ethereum looks right now, traders should also weigh up the possibility of pursuing a diversification strategy, which would include some allocation to newer, small-cap tokens.

This may also include presale coins, since these can rally strongly when they list for the first time, particularly if they’ve had a successful presale.

This is something new Ethereum-based utility token SUBBD ($SUBBD) is hoping to do, with its sale now having raised over $1.46 million.

SUBBD Presale Gathers Steam as Next-Generation AI-Powered Content Platform Preps Launch

SUBBD is a content creation platform that offers users a suite of AI tools to generate ideas, images, videos, and even performers.

It streamlines the whole content creation process, making creators more productive in the process.

And with $SUBBD serving as the native token for subscriptions and in-app payments, it could attract lots of demand.