Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) is trading at $2,223 today, nearly 8% below the $2,400 level that every buyer has failed to crack for the past two months. With May ending in 17 days, can Ethereum clear that level before the month ends?
If ETH can’t close above that level before then, the next conversation shifts from “recovery” to “where does it find support.” Here’s why the $2,400 price matters, what May has looked like so far, and what could finally push the ETH price above it.
How Has Ethereum Performed in May So Far?
May has been a rough month for Ethereum holders, and the direction has been consistently downward. Ethereum opened at $2,257 on Thursday, down 0.7% from Wednesday’s value, marking the fourth consecutive day of lower opens since the start of the week. ETH’s all-time high was $4,946 on August 24, 2025, and the coin is now valued at 55% below that level.
Although the Ethereum price built a constructive base between $2,100 and $2,400 across March and April, every push toward the upper end of that range has stalled. Ethereum slipped near $2,293 and remained trapped below the key $2,400 resistance zone, with analysts saying ETH must reclaim and hold above $2,400 to restore bullish momentum.
The most telling data point from May is what happened on the same day Charles Schwab opened spot Ethereum trading to its 39 million clients. Ethereum ETFs recorded $36.3 million in net outflows, led by BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust at $22.3 million and Fidelity’s Ethereum Fund at $14 million.
This reflects that institutional access is expanding at the fastest pace in ETH’s history, and ETF money is flowing out at the same time.
Why Does $2,400 Matter for the Ethereum Price?
The $2,400 level is the price where sellers have shown up repeatedly since March, and it aligns with three separate technical signals at the same time. On-chain analysis identifies the $2,450 to $2,456 zone as the watershed between bullish and bearish positioning for ETH. Every time ETH has approached $2,400 in recent months, sellers have stepped in and pushed it back down.
The $2,350 to $2,400 range has capped multiple recovery attempts, and the series of higher lows since April confirms buyers are absorbing selling pressure at each dip, but a decisive 4-hour close above $2,400 would be needed to confirm a breakout and target $2,500 and $2,600.
The level also stands just above where ETH’s 200-day moving average has been tracking. Ethereum is below its 200-day moving average at $2,335, and the monthly RSI at 38 signals neutral conditions—a monthly close above $2,650 would confirm bullish momentum heading into Q3.
Essentially, the $2,400 level is the line that separates a recovery from a continuation of the slide. Below it, ETH is in no man’s land. Above it, the next conversation becomes $2,500, $2,600, and eventually a run at the $3,000 level that analysts have been flagging for Q3.
What Could Push ETH Through $2,400 Before May Ends?
Getting a clean break above $2,400 in 17 days requires at least one major catalyst to land, and there are three in the frame right now.
The Glamsterdam Upgrade in June
The Glamsterdam upgrade, targeting June 2026, could triple Ethereum’s Layer 1 throughput—a fundamental shift the market has not fully priced in yet. If executed, that technical leap could validate current accumulation and provide the momentum to break through the $2,400 resistance, turning hidden buying into visible price action.
Network upgrades have historically front-run price moves in Ethereum—the market tends to price in confirmed deployments in the weeks before launch. A confirmed June date before the end of May could be the trigger that takes ETH through $2,400 without needing anything else to go right.
Charles Schwab’s 39 Million Account Holders
Charles Schwab launched direct spot Ethereum trading under the “Schwab Crypto” brand, giving its 39 million account holders access to buy and sell ETH alongside stocks, bonds, and ETFs in a single view, with Schwab clients already holding roughly 20% of all spot crypto exchange-traded products on the market. The rollout began May 13 in phases, starting with a waitlist group.
As more of those 39 million accounts get access through May and into June, the retail demand channel for ETH expands in a way that didn’t exist two weeks ago. Schwab’s $11.9 trillion client asset base gives it an edge over crypto-native exchanges as investors who prefer managing digital assets within a familiar brokerage environment rather than standalone platforms now have a direct route to ETH.
If even 0.5% of Schwab’s account base buys ETH in the first month, that’s demand from roughly 195,000 new buyers hitting a market that’s already showing higher lows.
Institutional Accumulation Building Below the Surface
Despite ETF outflows on May 13, large wallet holders bought 140,000 ETH in recent weeks, Bitmine bought 26,659 ETH last week alone, and tokenized US Treasuries on Ethereum just hit a record $8 billion—all signs that big money players are still accumulating.
The gap between ETF outflows and on-chain buying suggests the market is being repositioned. When the sellers who’ve been holding $2,400 down run out of coins to sell, buyers are already in place, which is the setup that produces a clean breakout.
Will Ethereum Clear $2,400 by the End of May?
Our verdict is that the Ethereum price tests $2,400 before May 31 but doesn’t close or hold above it. The Glamsterdam upgrade announcement could be the moment that changes that, but a confirmed June deployment date hasn’t arrived yet.
Ethereum’s weekly close above $2,450 would open the path to $2,520, while a dip below $2,280 could see the price slip toward $2,200 as the next support. Our forecast is ETH ending May between $2,300 and $2,400—close enough to the level that a single piece of good news in the first week of June produces a decisive break—whether that’s a Glamsterdam deployment date, an ETF inflow reversal, or a Schwab-driven retail surge.
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