Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) gained to reclaim $2,600 on Friday as network transaction costs fall sharply from their 2026 peak. Trader eyes the next potential breakout.
Why Did ETH Price Jump?
Chart analyst Ali Martinez said on Sep.17 that Ethereum remains inside its four-hour price channel despite heightened volatility in recent sessions.
ETH recently tested the channel’s lower boundary, setting up a potential rebound toward the midpoint and eventually the upper boundary around $2,570.
Martinez identified $2,570 as the key breakout level which the altcoin broke on Friday.
A strong four-hour close above that level, supported by volume, could open the door to $2,700 and potentially $3,000.
The bullish technical setup places focus on whether buyers can extend the recovery into the $2,570 resistance zone.
What Favors ETH?
Santiment Intelligence data on Friday shows Ethereum’s average transaction fee has dropped to just $0.095 per transfer, compared with a 2026 peak of $0.72 on April 21.
The on-chain platform attributed the decline partly to softer mainnet demand during the bearish summer but also pointed to ETH’s expanding network capacity.
Santiment highlighted Fusaka, higher blob throughput, a 60 million gas limit and Layer-2 networks absorbing execution that previously competed for Ethereum mainnet block space.
Lower fees make swaps, token transfers, DeFi transactions and stablecoin activity cheaper for users, potentially reducing one of Ethereum’s longstanding barriers to broader network usage.
Santiment cautioned that cheaper transactions alone do not signal stronger demand.
However, ETH prices recovering while execution costs remain low could provide a more favorable environment if network participation picks up.
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