Ethereum Price Analysis: ETH/USD fails to stay above $230.00, pressured by delisting of ETH pairs on Bitfinex

• ETH/USD is losing ground after a short-lived move above $230.00.
• Bitfinex announced the decision to delist 27 tokens to ETH due to low liquidity.

ETH/USD hit the intraday low at $226.00 and recovered to $233.00. By the time of writing, ETH/USD settled at $228.0. ETH, the second-largest digital asset with the current market value of $25.5 billion, has gained over 3% in the recent 24 hours amid the recovery on the cryptocurrency market. 

Bitfinex scraps ETH-based trading pairs

A Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex announced the decision to remove several trading pairs. The company cited low liquidity as the main reason behind the decision and emphasized that delisting helped to improve overall liquidity conditions on Bitfinex.

The removal of these trading pairs is a common measure that serves to consolidate and improve liquidity on Bitfinex, leading to a more streamlined and optimized trading experience for our users. 

The platform removes 27 tokens to Ethereum, including the coin of a rival exchange OKEX (OKB/ETH), and 16 tokens to Bitcoin. 

The team reminds the users to cancel open orders with the delisted pairs before March 6, otherwise, they will be canceled by the system.

ETH/USD: Technical picture

The nearest strong resistance above $230.00 is created by a combination of SMA200 1-hour, SMA2- 4-hour and the upper line of 1-hour Bollinger Band located on the approach to $234.00. Once it is out of the way, the upside is likely to gain traction with the next focus on a stronger barrier of $240.00 and SMA100 4-hour at $249.00, which separates us from psychological $250.00.

On the downside, the coin needs to return above $230.00 to ensure further recovery in the short-term time frame. If this support is cleared, the sell-off may be extended towards $225.00 (the middle line of 4-hour Bollinger Band) and $220.00.

ETH/USD 4-hour chart