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Ethereum has seen renewed attention after the unveiling of ERC-8004, a new AI-focused standard aimed at giving autonomous agents on-chain identity, reputation, and validation. On the surface, it looks like the kind of innovation that should lift sentiment. Post that, the Ethereum price was up almost 2.5% over the past 24 hours.
But the market reaction tells a different story. While large holders have stepped in and the price has stabilized, sentiment remains deeply depressed. The gap between structural progress and market confidence is now the key tension shaping Ethereum’s next move.
ERC-8004 Price Impact? Why Ethereum’s AI Upgrade Might Not Drive A Rally, Yet
ERC-8004 is designed to support decentralized AI agents by giving them a portable on-chain identity, reputation history, and validation. In simple terms, it helps machines trust and transact with each other without centralized platforms. That is a meaningful step for Ethereum’s long-term role in AI coordination.
ERC-8004 is going live on mainnet soon.
— Ethereum (@ethereum) January 27, 2026
By enabling discovery and portable reputation, ERC-8004 allows AI agents to interact across organizations ensuring credibility travels everywhere.
This unlocks a global market where AI services can interoperate without gatekeepers. https://t.co/Yrl0rvnSxj
However, sentiment data shows the market is not reacting the way it did to Ethereum’s last major upgrade cycle.
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When the Pectra upgrade went live on mainnet in May 2025, positive Ethereum sentiment jumped sharply. On the day of launch, the positive sentiment score sat near 259. Within three days, it surged to 610, a gain of roughly 135%. That expansion in sentiment preceded Ethereum’s multi-month rally into late summer (August), when the price eventually peaked after sentiment later reached yearly highs near 749.
The contrast today is stark. During the ERC-8004 rollout, Ethereum’s positive sentiment score is sitting near 18, the lowest reading of the past year. Compared with the Pectra launch baseline of 259, current sentiment is down more than 90%.
The reason lies in the nature of the upgrade. Pectra was a protocol-level improvement tied to scalability, efficiency, and network fundamentals that directly affected users and fees. ERC-8004, by contrast, is more like an application-layer standard. It is structurally important, but its benefits are early-stage and not yet visible to most market participants.
In short, ERC-8004 matters for Ethereum’s future. But sentiment data makes it clear the market isn’t pricing in that future yet.
Whales Accumulate as RSI Rebound Starts — But Smart Money Stays Cautious
While sentiment remains weak, on-chain behavior shows a different layer of positioning. But first, the price chart needs to be looked at!
From a technical standpoint, Ethereum recently flashed a hidden bullish divergence between December 18 and January 25. Price made a higher low while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) made a lower low. RSI measures momentum. This setup typically signals that selling pressure is easing, not that a full trend reversal has begun. The subsequent rebound confirmed stabilization and even avoided the bear flag breakdown.
The Ethereum price now just needs to form a daily close above $3,160 to defeat the bearish pattern.
Alongside that stabilization and hope for bearish invalidation, large holders stepped in. Ethereum whales increased their holdings from 104.18 million $ETH to 104.61 million $ETH following the ERC-8004 announcement. That is an addition of roughly 430,000 $ETH. At an average price, this equates to approximately $1.3 billion in accumulation.
This is not small money reacting emotionally to headlines. It is slow, deliberate positioning.
However, another metric tempers the immediate bullish interpretation. The Smart Money Index, which tracks participation from historically well-timed capital, remains below its signal line. In prior cycles, meaningful Ethereum rallies only began after this index crossed upward. The last clean signal-line break preceded a rally of roughly 13%. That confirmation is still missing.
Taken together, the message is clear. Whales are accumulating on weakness, likely with a long-term horizon. Smart money is not yet chasing momentum, aligned with weak sentiment. This is positioning, not speculation. This outlook could keep the ERC-8004 price impact low.
Double Bottom Sets a $4,000 Ethereum Price Path?
Only after sentiment and positioning are understood does the larger price structure come into focus.
Ethereum recently avoided a breakdown and is now forming a double-bottom (W) structure on the daily timeframe. This pattern reflects demand stepping in at similar lows, creating the potential for a broader recovery if resistance levels are cleared.
The structure defines a clear ladder of levels.
The first resistance zone sits near $3,160. Above that, the critical neckline of the double bottom lies in the $3,390–$3,400 range. This level matters. A sustained break above it would activate the pattern rather than merely suggest it.
If that neckline is reclaimed with confirmation, the structure opens conditional upside targets near $3,790 and $4,170. A further extension toward $4,410 would require not just price strength, but a material expansion in sentiment and smart-money participation.
Without that confirmation, the pattern remains potential energy, not a trigger. On the downside, dipping under $2,930 weakens the case. However, losing $2,780 would invalidate the double bottom structure and open lower Ethereum price levels.
The post Ethereum Whales Add $1.3 Billion on ERC-8004 Hype — But One Metric Still Blocks a Rally appeared first on BeInCrypto.