Ethereum locked in a range, Constantinople upgrade scheduled for January

Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency is hovering around $211.83 handle, off the Asian high reached at $213. The second largest coin by market value is moving within a narrow range amid market indecision and lack of catalysts. ETH/USD is unchanged in the recent 24 hours, however, the coin is 2% higher on a weekly basis.

Ethereum's technical picture

ETH/USD came close to a strong support zone, created by SMA levels (1-hour chart) around $211.40-70. Once it is cleared, the sell-off may continue with the next target set at $206.68 (Sunday's low) strengthened by SMA100 and SMA200 (4-hour chart). It is followed by critical $200. 

On the upside, we need to see the price go above $220 and $223, this will open up the way towards the ultimate resistance of $232. 

Ethereum upgrade will take place in January 2019

Meanwhile, the Ethereum community is getting ready for a major upgrade that will be forced on the network via a planned hard fork called Constantinople in January 2019. The developers claim that it will improve performance and scalability of the ecosystem, allowing to process transactions faster. Everyone will need to upgrade the software together with the network to ensure continuous operability.

"Constantinople upgrade for ethereum mainnet activation suggested for 16th of January 2019, block number to be confirmed on black Friday in a fortnight," , a release manager at Parity Technologies, wrote in his Twitter account, revealing the proposed dated of the upgrade.

In the previous week, four Ethereum developers published a draft for their version of Casper specifications with a detailed description of a new technological solution.

ETH/USD, 1-hour