While bitcoin continues to trade sideways without updating technical benchmarks, let's see what happens to the second cryptocurrency.

Over the past seven days, Ethereum has grown by 25% (for comparison, Bitcoin is only 5%). In early May, it updated its historical values, reaching $3,500 per coin.

This is not the first update of all-time highs for the second cryptocurrency. This process has been observed since the end of January, after the price of ETH/USD rose above the values of January 2018 ($1,370.60 per coin).

Against this background, analysts are beginning to pay attention to the possible overheating of this asset. Experts from Santiment note that after such a sharp increase, no less sharp sales are possible.

Overbought as a result of the hype is evidenced by the growth of activity in social networks and several stock market indicators. The level of social activity around the second cryptocurrency has reached all-time highs. This means that recently, in a short period of time, a large number of users have been interested in ethereum.

On May 3, when the price of Ethereum rose above $3,000 per coin, the daily increase in social activity updated the historical record and was higher than what was observed in 2017.

After reaching $3,500 per Ether, the average values of social mood indicators declined. According to Santiment analysts, this may mean a weakening of interest, as well as the formation of prerequisites for the beginning of a bearish scenario.

In favor of this opinion, an argument is made about the influx of more than 1 million ETH coins to crypto exchanges. This could be a sign of growing pressure from sellers. Moreover, the decline can start from the level of $3,500.

Further growth, according to Santiment experts, is possible only after the Ethereum overheating has passed. But judging by the recent Bitcoin rally, this is far from a fact.

No matter how further the fate of ETH/USD develops, the nearest targets and possible scenarios should be determined from the point of view of technical analysis. After such a long growth, the correction is quite probable, which means that it is necessary to move "with small jumps", taking away a small, but the most probable profit from the market.

On the ETH/USD chart, we see that the price has consolidated above the 161.8 level of the previous Fibo Expansion grid (green). This horizontal at 3,244.64 now acts as a support. And if it is broken, quotes can be adjusted up to the Fibo Expansion 100 level near $2,800 per coin. However, if the breakout takes place, the first target downward will be the $3,000 psychological mark.

If the downward correction is exhausted by the current consolidation, the next targets for growth should be determined using the new Fibo Expansion (purple levels). Now the 61.8 level is working as a current resistance, and if it is broken, the ETH/USD price may move further to the 100 level of the purple extension - this is about $3,800 per coin.