Ethereum price rose 1.7% over the past 24 hours to trade at $3,025 at 4:02 a.m. EST, with trading volume down 23% to $12.4 billion.
This comes as Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin in a New Year’s message on Thursday highlighted Ethereum’s long-standing vision as a “world computer,” a shared, neutral platform for applications that can operate without relying on centralized intermediaries.
In the post, Buterin says that the real test of the Ethereum network is in fulfilling its original mission, and not in chasing the latest crypto stories.
Welcome to 2026! Milady is back.
Ethereum has done a lot in 2025: gas limits have increased, the number of blobs has increased, the quality of the node software has improved, zkEVMs have broken their performance milestones, and with zkEVMs and PeerDAS, Ethereum has taken the biggest step towards a fundamental…
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) January 1, 2026
Working like a world computer, Buterin says the vision focuses on applications designed to function without fraud, censorship or third-party control, even if the original developers disappear.
For Ethereum to succeed, it must therefore be usable on a global scale and remain truly decentralized.
Additionally, Buterin says Ethereum has made significant progress by 2025, making it faster, more reliable, and better able to handle growth without sacrificing its decentralized design.
Therefore, Ethereum is moving closer to becoming a new kind of shared computing platform rather than just another blockchain.
However, ETH is down 11% this year. Can Ethereum Price Perform Well in 2026?
Ethereum price shows signs of recovery
The ETH price has crossed above the USD 3,000 level as it is still trading within a descending channel and is blocked by the USD 3,400 level at the mid-level of the channel.
Ethereum entered an ongoing bearish trend after reaching an all-time high above $4,900 in the last quarter of 2025.
This trend was further fueled after Ethereum price fell below both the 50-day and 200-day Simple Moving Averages (SMAs), with a deathcross around $3,556, making bulls cautious.
However, ETH has now crossed above the 50-day SMA (3,006), which is an indicator that buyers may step in to defend the previous support around $2,800.
Key indicators are also supporting bullish sentiment, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) breaching the 50 center line level, currently at 51.72, indicating increasing buying pressure.
Moreover, the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) also strengthens the bullish outlook, with the blue MACD line crossing above the orange signal line, indicating that positive momentum may be picking up.
ETH price prediction
Based on the ETH/USD daily chart, ETH price action indicates a cautious, range-to-bearish expectation with early signs of stabilization.
ETH is trading above the 50-day SMA, which technically keeps the broader trend somewhat bullish as the price tries to settle around the $3,000-$3,100 support zone.
If ETH stays above this support in the short term and continues to respect the lower limit of the descending channel, relief is possible.
A sustained move above the 50-day SMA near $3,050-$3,100 could open the door for a recovery towards $3,300, followed by $3,600, which corresponds to a key Fibonacci retracement (0.236 and 0.382).
In a more bullish scenario, a daily close above channel resistance and the $3,600-$3,700 region would significantly improve the market structure. That would increase the chances of Ethereum’s price reaching $4,000+ again.
On the bearish side, failure to hold the psychological level of $3,000 would weaken the current base. A breakdown below this area could send Ethereum back to $2,700, with deeper downside risk towards $2,400-$2,600, which previously acted as a key demand zone.
Related news:
Best Wallet – Diversify Your Crypto Portfolio
- Easy-to-use, feature-driven crypto wallet
- Get early access to upcoming token ICOs
- Multi-chain, multi-wallet, non-custodial
- Now in the App Store, Google Play
- Stake to earn native token $BEST
- 250,000+ monthly active users
#Ethereum #Breaks #Vitalik #Boosts #World #Computer #Vision