Ethereum is trading today at $2,223, about 8% below the $2,400 level that has rejected all recovery attempts since March, and 55% below its all-time high of $4,946 set in August 2025.
Charles Schwab launched direct Ethereum spot trading to its 39 million account holders on May 13, 2026, which is the same day Ethereum ETFs recorded $36.3 million in net outflows, the largest single-day ETF outflow in three weeks, led by BlackRock’s $22.3 million sale.
The Glamsterdam upgrade, scheduled for deployment in June 2026, could triple Ethereum’s Layer 1 transaction throughput – a fundamental change that the market has yet to price in and the most credible catalyst available to drive a decisive close above $2,400.
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Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) is trading today at $2,223, almost 8% below the $2,400 level that no buyer has managed to surpass over the past two months. With May ending in 17 days, can Ethereum surpass that level before the month ends?
If ETH fails to close above that level before then, the next conversation turns from “recovery” to “where does it find support.” Here’s why the $2,400 price matters, what May has been like so far, and what could finally drive the ETH price above it.
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How has Ethereum performed in May so far?
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May has been a difficult month for Ethereum holders and the direction has been consistently downward. Ethereum opened at $2,257 on Thursday, down 0.7% from Wednesday’s value, marking the fourth consecutive day of lower openings since the start of the week. ETH’s all-time high was $4,946 on August 24, 2025, and the coin is now valued 55% below that level.
Although Ethereum price built a constructive base between $2,100 and $2,400 during March and April, each push towards the upper end of that range has stalled. Ethereum fell near $2,293 and remained stuck below the key $2,400 resistance zone, and analysts say ETH must recover and hold above $2,400 to restore bullish momentum.
The most telling data from May is what happened on the same day that Charles Schwab opened Ethereum spot trading to its 39 million clients. Ethereum ETFs recorded $36.3 million in net outflows, led by BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust with $22.3 million and Fidelity’s Ethereum Fund with $14 million.
This reflects that institutional access is expanding at the fastest pace in ETH history and, at the same time, ETF money is flowing out.
Why is $2,400 important to the price of Ethereum?
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The $2,400 level is the price where sellers have repeatedly appeared since March and aligns with three different technical signals at the same time. On-chain analysis identifies the $2,450 to $2,456 zone as the inflection point between bullish and bearish positioning for ETH. Every time ETH approached $2,400 in recent months, sellers stepped in and pushed it back.
The $2,350 to $2,400 range has capped multiple recovery attempts, and the series of higher lows since April confirms that buyers are absorbing selling pressure on each dip, but a decisive 4-hour close above $2,400 would be necessary to confirm a breakout and target $2,500 and $2,600.
The level also sits just above where ETH’s 200-day moving average has been tracking. Ethereum is below its 200-day moving average at $2,335, and the monthly RSI at 38 indicates neutral conditions: a monthly close above $2,650 would confirm bullish momentum heading into the third quarter.
Basically, the $2,400 level is the line that separates a recovery from a continuation of the decline. Below, ETH is in no man’s land. Above it, the next talk becomes $2,500, $2,600 and finally a run towards the $3,000 level that analysts have been pointing to for the third quarter.
What could push ETH above $2,400 before the end of May?
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Getting a clean break above $2,400 in 17 days requires at least one major catalyst to land, and there are three in the frame right now.
The Glamsterdam upgrade in June
The Glamsterdam upgrade, scheduled for June 2026, could triple Ethereum’s Layer 1 performance, a fundamental change that the market has not yet fully priced in. If executed, that technical breakout could validate the current accumulation and provide the momentum to break through the $2,400 resistance, turning hidden buying into visible price action.
Network upgrades have historically brought forward price movements on Ethereum – the market tends to price confirmed deployments in the weeks leading up to launch. A confirmed June date before the end of May could be the trigger that pushes ETH above $2,400 without anything else needing to go right.
Charles Schwab’s 39 million account holders
Charles Schwab launched direct Ethereum spot trading under the “Schwab Crypto” brand, giving its 39 million account holders access to buy and sell ETH along with stocks, bonds, and ETFs in a single view, and Schwab clients already own approximately 20% of all spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded products on the market. The launch began on May 13 in phases, starting with a group on a waiting list.
As more of those 39 million accounts gain access throughout May and June, the retail demand pipeline for ETH expands in a way that didn’t exist two weeks ago. Schwab’s $11.9 trillion client asset base gives it an advantage over crypto-native exchanges, as investors who prefer to manage digital assets within a familiar brokerage environment rather than independent platforms now have a direct route to ETH.
If even 0.5% of Schwab’s account base buys ETH in the first month, that’s demand from about 195,000 new buyers coming into a market that’s already showing higher lows.
Building institutional accumulation beneath the surface
Despite ETF outflows on May 13, large wallet holders bought 140,000 ETH in recent weeks, Bitmine bought 26,659 ETH last week alone, and US Treasuries tokenized on Ethereum just hit a record $8 billion, all signs that big money players are still piling in.
The gap between ETF outflows and on-chain purchases suggests the market is repositioning itself. When sellers who have been holding $2,400 run out of coins to sell, buyers are already in place, which is the setup that produces a clean breakout.
Will Ethereum liquidate $2,400 by the end of May?
Our verdict is that Ethereum price tests $2,400 before May 31, but does not close or sustain above that level. The announcement of the Glamsterdam update could be the time to change that, but a confirmed June implementation date has yet to arrive.
Ethereum’s weekly close above $2,450 would open the way to $2,520, while a drop below $2,280 could see the price fall towards $2,200 as the next support. Our forecast is for ETH to end May between $2,300 and $2,400, close enough to the level that a single piece of good news in the first week of June will produce a decisive breakout, whether it’s a Glamsterdam implementation date, an ETF inflow reversal, or a Schwab-driven retail rally.
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