The city during the high school entrance exam season is always quiet in a somewhat unusual way.

With fewer noisy streams of cars on the road, what you see more of is parents waiting at the school gates. With a breeze, even the air seems to tighten a little.

The rhythm of this phase is very similar to what you see on the chart.

Not violently, but in a continuous tug.

ETH is currently fluctuating around 1740. It looks steady and unhurried, but in reality it’s a transition period before choosing a direction.

From the perspective of the larger structure, this segment is still a repair within a pullback, not a switch of trend.

Market sentiment is easily disturbed by external events—such as the repeated turns in the Iran–U.S. negotiations and changes in expectations for macro risks—which makes funds cautious, as if they’re waiting for a clearer signal.

And in this “waiting for results” stage, prices often return to a cleaner range to exchange positions again.

So the short-term outlook is still clear:

Watch for entries for longs at the pullback range’s holding area of 1725–1710. If this level can hold steady, then essentially it’s continuing the consolidation after the previous round of rebound—not breaking the trend $ETH .

Set the defensive level at 1670. Once it breaks below that, it means this structure has been interrupted, and the overall direction needs to be re-examined.

For the upside targets, first look at 1778. This corresponds to the return to the prior consolidation area, and it’s the first threshold where the market tests balance again. After a breakout, look above 1820 next.

The kids taking the high school entrance exam are doing multiple-choice questions—each mark they make is done very carefully.

The market is the same.

Not every stretch of volatility is worth getting involved in, but every choice at key ranges will determine where things go next.

Sometimes you’ll find that what truly decides the outcome isn’t how fast you rush—it's whether you can hold steady where you’re supposed to.

So it’s like this in the market, and in people, too.