- Ethereum price is facing renewed selling pressure at $2,164 amid geopolitical tensions, including with Iran, and risk-off sentiment in the market.
- $ETH Sellers take back the 20-day exponential moving average to strengthen the group against the asset.
- US non-farm employment statistics for February 2026 surprised the market with a decrease of 92,000 jobs.
$ETHThe second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization fell 4.5% during Friday’s U.S. market hours, trading at $1,970. The decline follows in the footsteps of Bitcoin, which once again fell below $70,000 amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Although price trends remain subdued, asset manager BlackRock has updated its SEC-compliant iShares Ethereum Staking ETF (ETHB) to reduce staking fees, suggesting the company is actively pursuing a potential launch.
BlackRock lowers staking fees to 10% in latest Ethereum staking ETF filing
On March 6th, the cryptocurrency market witnessed a significant decline, with the market capitalization decreasing by 3.53% to $2.32 trillion. The main factor supporting this drawdown was higher oil prices across broader markets amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Furthermore, the number of non-farm employees in the United States in February 2026 unexpectedly decreased by 92,000 people, compared to the market forecast for an increase of 50,000 people, and the unemployment rate stabilized at 4.4%. Such a weak employment report could increase the likelihood of a Federal Reserve rate cut, which has historically triggered a recovery in risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.
BlackRock has filed an amended SEC filing to change the fees applicable to staking rewards for its proposed staking Ethereum ETF (ticker ETHB). Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seifert said the main change is that staking fees have been reduced from 18% of the total staking amount to 10% of monthly earned rewards.
This structure has no fees for several months and has no rewards or minimum fees. The tiered discount mechanism means that once the total amount of assets staked using approved validators is $20 million or more, the fee will be reduced to 6%, and a lower rate will apply from that point on. Considering the continued development of Ethereum-based investment vehicles, this revision puts the product in a better position.
This could potentially increase inflows at the time of ETF launch, as institutions and individual participants would not have to manage the nodes themselves and would have easy access to Ethereum’s staking yield.
$ETH Price fails to breakout from monthly resistance
In the past 48 hours, the price of Ethereum plummeted from $2,164 to $1,974, marking a 9.2% loss. The drawdown shows an overhead supply of $2,164, $ETHThe third reversal from this range resistance.
previous $ETH The price reversal from this resistance level pushed Ethereum prices higher with renewed selling pressure and a signal of continued strength going forward. If history repeats itself, $ETH It could lose another 6.8% and retest the $1,810 bottom trendline.
If the coin sellers force a breakdown below this floor, the selling pressure will accelerate and the asset will be pulled towards the $1,530 support.
The downward daily EMAs (20, 50, 100, 200) support the bearish narrative by providing dynamic resistance to the price.
$ETH/USDT -1 day chart
Conversely, if Ethereum price rebounds from range support, buyers will attempt a further breakout from the overhead resistance to facilitate a sustained recovery.
