Macro Tailwinds Lift ETH, But Traders Eye Weak Leverage Demand and Fed Decision

[johnblockbuster]

ETH rallied strongly on Tuesday after soft U.S. job data increased expectations for a 0.25% Fed rate cut, but derivatives markets show traders staying defensive. Funding rates hovered near 9%, signaling balanced leverage and limited bullish aggression.
Broader sentiment shifted after U.S. layoffs hit 1.85 million, their highest since 2023, prompting attention to Wednesday’s Fed decision and Jerome Powell’s comments. Still, analysts note that neither on-chain nor futures data suggest meaningful weakness in ETH — and with L2 growth accelerating, Ethereum remains positioned to capture upcoming DeFi expansion, especially as U.S. regulators warm to tokenization.

[Rimon Khan]

ETH moving on macro signals isn’t surprising—leverage remains the missing fuel.

[Nahid Hossen]

Fed decision is the real catalyst everyone’s waiting on.