ETH has V-shaped after big drops since 2018, Tom Lee says
Tom Lee argues that Ethereum tends to rebound sharply after severe drawdowns, pointing to a run of V-shaped recoveries since 2018. He has highlighted eight prior instances in which steep declines were followed by swift rebounds, as reported by CoinMarketCap Academy. The claim is observational and pattern-based, not a guarantee of future performance.
A V-shaped sequence, in market terms, describes a rapid selloff followed by an equally forceful recovery that retraces the bulk of the downswing in a similar timeframe. Lee’s framing places the latest selloff within that historical template, while acknowledging that timing and path can vary considerably across cycles.
Why this matters now: staking lockup, BitMine buys, $1,890 level
One reason the pattern is drawing attention now is supply. According to Milk Road, roughly 30.3% of ETH (about 36.7 million) is staked, creating what the outlet describes as a significant supply restriction during periods of stress. If demand stabilizes or improves, a smaller circulating float can hasten price discovery on rebounds.
Institutional behavior is another focal point. BitMine bought roughly $83 million in ETH this week during the drawdown, as reported by CryptoPotato. Accumulation on weakness can help absorb sell pressure, though these flows can reverse if broader risk sentiment deteriorates.
Technicians are also watching a reference zone around $1,890. Tom DeMark has flagged that area as a potential bottom and suggested it might be “undercut” twice before a durable turn, as reported by Cointelegraph. A failure to hold or reclaim such levels would weaken the case for a clean V-shaped rebound.
Proponents contend history still favors a rapid snapback once forced selling abates. “Ethereum has recovered ‘100% of the time within almost the same speed that it fell,’” said Tom Lee, head of research at Fundstrat and chair at BitMine.
Skeptics counter that not all activity translates into sustainable value capture. Andrew Kang has challenged the link between growth in tokenization or stablecoin volumes and Ethereum’s fee revenue, arguing that the relationship has been weaker than bulls suggest, as reported by Yahoo Finance. If revenues and on-chain usage fail to keep pace, a symmetrical rebound could prove harder to sustain.
At the time of this writing, Ethereum (ETH) traded near $1,955, with 14-day RSI around 29.6 (often interpreted as oversold) and 30-day realized volatility near 17.7%. Short-term breadth remained fragile, with 12 green days out of the last 30 (40%), while longer moving averages sat well above spot, underscoring the work required to repair the trend.
Define the V-shaped recovery pattern and how we assess it
A V-shaped recovery is a two-leg formation: a steep peak-to-trough drawdown followed by a comparably swift trough-to-recovery upswing that retraces most of the prior loss. For assessment, the decline typically exceeds a material threshold (commonly 50% for crypto majors), and the rebound occurs at a pace and magnitude similar to the selloff, producing a “V” when plotted over time.
A disciplined review starts by marking the local peak and trough, quantifying the drawdown, and measuring elapsed time on the decline versus the recovery leg. Analysts then evaluate confirmation factors: durable reclaim of support/resistance, improving participation (spot volumes, liquidity), and alignment with structural supply dynamics such as staking-driven float reduction. The cleaner the symmetry and the stronger the confirmations, the higher the confidence that a V-shape is in progress rather than a transient bounce.
Even with a robust historical record, pattern-based inferences remain conditional. Macro conditions, regulation, leverage, and market microstructure can distort otherwise reliable setups, and key technical levels can fail before a base forms. As always in markets, past performance does not guarantee future results, and no single pattern should be treated as determinative.
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