Ethereum entered early 2026 with lower gas fees, rising futures positioning, and a technical breakout on the daily chart. Together, the data point to changing network conditions and renewed trader activity, even as price remains well below prior highs.
Ethereum gas fees stay lower as builders watch costs
Ethereum gas fees stayed comparatively low in early 2026, after years of sharp spikes that made onchain activity costly during peak periods.
Ethereum Gas Fees Level Chart 5Y. Source: @cryptorand/X
Trader and analyst Rand said on X that Ethereum has become more consistent at maintaining cheaper gas fees, after a long stretch of volatility. As a result, he said the network now looks more practical for traditional finance firms that want to build and scale on Ethereum.
The chart Rand shared shows elevated fee spikes through 2021 and 2022, followed by a long decline and flatter readings through 2023 to 2026. The latest data point on the right edge sits near 0.434, while earlier peaks rose far higher.
Ethereum open interest returns to pre crash level as price lags
Ethereum’s futures open interest climbed back above levels last seen around the Oct. 10 market crash, even as Ether’s price remained far below its prior highs.
ETHUSDT 1D Binance Futures with Aggregated Open Interest. Source: @kaydrake/X
Trader KAY said on X that ETH open interest has moved back above the Oct. 10 crash level while price stays almost 40% lower. As a result, he framed the setup as another example of traders rebuilding leveraged exposure before spot fully recovers.
The chart shows ETHUSDT is trading near $3,155 on the daily timeframe. At the same time, the lower panel labeled aggregated open interest rises into early January, then holds near 5.074M after a brief pullback.
Ethereum breaks out of descending channel as price consolidates
Meanwhile, Ether traded near $3,090 on Binance as technical charts showed a break from a prolonged downward structure, according to analysis shared by Crypto King on X.
Ethereum U.S. Dollar 1D Binance. Source: @CryptoKing4Ever/X
Crypto King said ETH moved out of a falling wedge and a descending parallel channel that guided price action through November and December. The daily chart highlights a series of lower highs within the channel, followed by a breakout near the start of 2026.
The chart also marks key Fibonacci levels, with the 0.618 retracement around the mid $3,400 area and the 0.382 level closer to $4,000. After the breakout, price pulled back slightly and then stabilized above $3,000, indicating a consolidation phase after the move higher.
An upward projection on the chart points toward the $4,400 area, reflecting the analyst’s stated target following the trend shift. The setup frames the recent move as a structural change after weeks of declining price action rather than a single short term spike.
Source: https://coinpaper.com/13698/ethereum-gas-fees-ease-as-open-interest-rebuilds-and-price-breaks-downtrend
