After hitting a monthly high of $2,209 on Friday, the price of ether (ETH) fell below a key monthly resistance that has been tested five times since February.

While onchain data highlights a huge group of traders near $2,800, data from the Ether futures market shows investors trimming positions after this week’s gains.

An investor cost base of $2,800 indicates a prime accumulation zone

Data from Glassnode indicates that the cost-based ETH distribution heatmap shows massive accumulation near $2,800, where over 3 million ETH has previously been purchased.

Cost-based clusters identify price zones where huge groups of investors establish positions, often acting as a magnet during upside moves as investors defend entry levels or escalate exposure.

The data suggests a potential path towards $2,800. It is worth noting that the historical concentration of supply between $2,200 and $2,800 is relatively restricted, which means that a break of the current range could allow the price to move more freely within this range.

From a technical perspective, the 200-day straightforward moving average (SMA) also crosses on the daily chart near the $2,800 level, a key indicator ETH has not approached since early January.

However, derivatives data suggests that investors remain cautious near the current price range.

Related: Ethereum Foundation publishes mandate clarifying role and goals

Ether futures activity declines after $2,200 test

Activity in the Ether futures market surged during this week’s rally, with open interest rising 21% to $10.9 billion from $9 billion this week as the price rose to $2,200. The escalate suggests that investors were opening novel leveraged positions as Ether moved higher.

However, the positioning changed when ETH tested the upper range. Interest in open interest dropped by approximately 6% after the $2,200 test, indicating that some investors began to close out positions rather than adding novel exposure.

The pullback suggests long traders have likely profited or de-risked near the top of the range, slowing the rally.

Spot market activity showed improved demand during the move. Cumulative spot volume delta (CVD), which tracks aggressive buying relative to selling, skyrocketed to $87 million from -$150 million on March 8, indicating buyers moved in as Ether bounced from the $2,000 area.

Order flow data, however, reflected waning bullish sentiment. The bid-ask ratio remained strongly positive while Ether consolidated near $2,000, showing that buyers dominated the range phase.

This strength faded as the price approached $2,150, signaling reduced buying pressure near the top of the move.

Hyblock data has provided additional transparency in derivatives markets. Futures positioning remains relatively balanced, with long traders accounting for approximately 59.4% of Ether futures exposure on Binance.

This balanced outlook often leads to volatile price action as the market tries to decisively break through nearby resistance levels.

The data shows a divergence forming, while the previous ETH accumulation shows an escalate to $2,800. With this in mind, it is clear that Ether futures traders remain cautious near ETH’s current range.

Related: Ethereum Accumulation Wallets Jump 30%: Will ETH Price Follow?