The Ethereum price is up 2.5% on the day to exchange hands at $2,093 as of 2:00 a.m. EST on Dec. 1 as the U.S. SEC opens up discussions for the spot Ethereum ETF approval.

ETH moved to regain the $2,100 during the early Asian trading hours on Friday before retreating to the current price. The second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is up 30% over the last quarter and has recorded over 75% gains year-to-date (YTD).

On-chain data shows that the Ethereum whale accumulation has been growing steadily with "with exchange wallets now reduced to 6-month lows and non-exchange wallets soaring to all-time highs", according to data from Santiment. This trend suggests a growing preference for self-custody, as more coins are transitioning away from exchanges.

According to the on-chain and social metrics firm, the largest ETH wallets are exhibiting a positive pattern, indicating an impending shift over the next few days.

The technical setup shows that Ethereum is strong and could be ready for a significant move upwards.

Ethereum Price Could Ascend to $2,500

On Oct. 19, ETH embarked on an uptrend that has seen it rise approximately 35% to the current levels. The price has maintained an upward traction that has seen it record a series of higher lows. Ethereum has also recorded a number of equal highs around the $2,140 area.

A daily candlestick close above $2,140 would see the token rise to confront resistance from the $2,200 supplier congestion level. Higher than that, the next logical move would be the $2,500 psychological level, representing a 20% uptick from the current price.

ETH/USD Daily Chart

Supporting this positive outlook for Ethereum is the upward movement of the Relative Strength Index (RSI). The price strength at 61 suggested that the buyers had begun taking control of the price.

Moreover, the moving averages were facing upwards and they provided areas of strong support on the downside. This is particularly the buyer congestion area between $1,915 and $1,719, where all the major Exponential Moving Averages (EMAs) sat.

This is also reinforced by on-chain data from IntoTheBlock. Its In/Out of the Money Around Price (IOMAP) model showed that the area with the EMAs was around the $1,843 to $1,905 price range where 3.53 million ETH were previously bought by roughly 5.99 million addresses.

Any attempts to pull the price below this level would be met by aggressive buying from this cohort of investors who may want to increase their profits.

Ethereum IOMAP Chart

The same IOMAP chart also shows that the Layer 1 token faces relatively weak resistance on the upside, compared to the support it enjoys on the downside.

Conversely, failure to rise above the $2,140 range high could mean the inability of the buyers to sustain the higher levels. In such a case, the token may drop to seek solace from the ascending trendline at $2,030 or the $2,000 support floor. This is where the downside could be capped in the near term.