Ethereum has taken a backseat to Bitcoin’s dominance for most of the past year by trailing in performance and growth of market dominance. But since the start of April, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap has gained traction, showing early signs of strength, particularly with inflows into spot Ethereum ETFs in the US. This has caused a shift in Ethereum’s price behavior, especially against Bitcoin.  Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe took to social media platform X to share his latest insights on the ETH/BTC pair, pointing to a specific level that could open the door to Ethereum outperforming Bitcoin. Ethereum Nears Resistance At 0.02 BTC According to van de Poppe, Ethereum is currently trading in what he describes as a no man’s land when paired against Bitcoin. Despite this, he believes that the leading altcoin is doing great and is preparing for a breakout. Notably, the analyst identifies the 0.02325 level on the ETH/BTC pair as the most important threshold. A move above this level, he argues, would likely trigger a strong continuation of Ethereum’s current uptrend. As shown on the 4-hour candlestick timeframe chart that accompanied van de Poppe’s post, the ETH/BTC pair has been forming higher lows since last week. This has caused a buildup of pressure against the horizontal resistance zone. The chart also highlights how Ethereum shot up massively against Bitcoin in early May before hitting a roadblock at $0.026 before pulling a 20% drop to 0.021. However, Ethereum is starting to push up against Bitcoin again with the recent lower highs. All that is now required is for the pair to rise above 0.02325. If this happens, the analyst predicted that Ethereum will start to undergo a strong breakout against Bitcoin. Since the beginning of April, Ethereum has not only stabilized against Bitcoin but has also shown clear signs of outperformance. Van de Poppe noted this change in momentum, stating, “It’s still an $ETH market.”  Image From X: Michaël van de Poppe ETH/BTC To Break Out Soon ALthough the momentum is starting to favor Ethereum right now, the breakout isn’t confirmed just yet until it breaches the 0.02325 level against Bitcoin. This makes it the most important level to monitor, according to this technical analysis.  If Ethereum manages to close convincingly above this mark, it would confirm the breakout van de Poppe forecasted and could set off a new phase of ETH outperformance across the market. This would possibly usher in the much-anticipated altcoin season. However, if the breakout fails, Ethereum could briefly pull back before making another attempt.  Interestingly, the formation of higher lows on ETH/BTC favors a break to the upside. At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading at $2,440, up by 0.5% in the past 24 hours. This puts it on the path to retesting the $2,500 price level in a breakout move. According to technical analysis from another crypto analyst, Ethereum is currently gearing up for a surge past $10,000. Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView

As crypto prices see a new rebound with Bitcoin (BTC) leading the pack, US investors are not only anticipating significant returns on BTC and other digital assets but also facing increased scrutiny from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  Recent reports indicate that the Internal Revenue Service has dispatched a wave of warning letters to crypto investors, raising alarms about the accuracy of the information they provided on their tax returns. Crypto Tax Inquiries Skyrocket In the past two months, the number of these warning letters has spiked, signaling a renewed focus on digital asset reporting. Crypto tax experts have noted that this uptick is markedly higher than in previous years.  David Kemmerer, co-founder and CEO of CoinLedger, reported a dramatic increase in support inquiries related to IRS communications. From May to June, conversations on CoinLedger about “IRS letters” surged to nearly 800, a ninefold increase compared to the same timeframe in 2024. Kemmerer explained, “Thousands of investors are getting these letters. Naturally, when that happens, we see a flood of customers coming to us asking, ‘What do I do?’”  This sentiment is echoed by two crypto tax attorneys, Jordan Bass and Andrew Gordon, who have also observed a noticeable rise in inquiries regarding these IRS notifications.  Bass mentioned that his firm received inquiries from at least ten recipients of the letters in the last two months, a significant increase from the previous year when no inquiries were reported. IRS Warning Letters The IRS has a history of intensifying its efforts to ensure compliance among cryptocurrency investors. Following the agency’s acquisition of thousands of customer records from Coinbase in 2017, it implemented a series of “voluntary compliance” letters aimed at encouraging accurate reporting among investors.  The latest notices inform recipients that the Internal Revenue Service possesses information indicating they hold “one or more accounts containing virtual currency.”  While some letters advise recipients to review their reporting for accuracy, others require a response, either through amended returns or explanations justifying their reported transactions. Interestingly, Gordon noted a potential commonality among recent recipients of the letters, many of whom had accounts on the Seychelles-based crypto exchange Poloniex, raising questions about the data the IRS may have accessed to trigger these communications. Kemmerer speculated that the increased outreach from the IRS typically follows the agency acquiring new data, suggesting that the notices might be part of broader enforcement efforts. “I’m sure there are just people randomly getting selected, and the lucky ones get these scary letters,” he said. Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com