frames – Earlybirds Invest

A prominent Ethereum (ETH) evangelist is interpreting the cryptocurrency’s recent sharp decline as a beneficial pause rather than a bearish reversal.

Tom Lee of Fundstrat sees the drop toward $4,150 not as a reason for alarm, but as a “healthy” development that could set the stage for a run toward $5,100.

A Strategic Pullback Before Higher Gains

Lee shared analysis from Fundstrat’s Head of Technical Strategy, Mark Newton, in an August 19 post on X, where the analyst indicated that Ethereum is undergoing a “minor correction” that could see its price move down to a range between $4,075 and $4,150 by the middle of this week.

Newton described this potential entry zone as presenting a “very good risk/reward” opportunity, with an expectation that the asset will subsequently advance to approximately $5,100, marking a new all-time high.

His projection dovetails with observations from other market watchers, who point to the CME futures gap near $4,070 as a magnet level. Ethereum dipped from last week’s high of $4,776 and was trading around $4,293 at the time of writing, brushing levels between $4,100 and $4,250, identified by analysts such as Michaël van de Poppe as strong support.

Meanwhile, whale activity and falling exchange reserves are also hinting at confidence from larger holders. Recent data from CryptoQuant showed ETH balances on exchanges had dropped to a three-year low of 18.5 million. However, while retail wallets lightened their exposure, institutions appear to be buying into weakness, with analyst CryptoJack noting on X that “whales are stacking.”

Nonetheless, Lee and Newton’s perspectives clash with a notable shift in short-term trader sentiment. Data from prediction market Polymarket shows the belief among bettors that ETH can reach $5,000 by month’s end has plummeted to 26%, down significantly from 64% just days prior.

Price Performance and the Bigger Picture

In the last 24 hours, ETH has fluctuated between $4,204 and $4,382, before settling at $4,293, a price that’s only 0.5% higher than it was a day ago.

On the weekly timeframe, the coin’s movement is just as flat, with data from CoinGecko showing it also dropped by 0.5%, a modest loss compared to Bitcoin’s 2.5% dip in that time, as well as the broader crypto market’s 3.9% decline. Zooming out, ETH remains up 18.1% over two weeks, 15.8% in a month, and nearly 64% year-on-year.

The consolidation comes even as institutional demand is reshaping the market structure. For instance, Bitmine Immersion Technologies, where Lee serves as chairman, announced last week that it had accumulated 1.15 million ETH worth nearly $5 billion, making it the largest Ethereum treasury globally.

This development adds to speculation that Wall Street adoption and on-chain supply contraction could support longer-term valuations far above current levels, with Bitmine even floating $60,000 as an eventual price target.

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What you need to know

Meta launched new Skyler-style Ray-Ban glasses on Wednesday.

U.S. and Canada-based Ray-Ban Meta owners are getting Live AI conversations and Instagram messaging.

EU customers will receive access to Meta AI photo analysis, music apps, and full Live Translation for the first time.

Meta will begin selling Ray-Bans in Mexico, India, and the UAE soon.

Wherever you live, your Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses will get a significant boost in smarts this week. And Meta is also tempting new customers with a stylish new set of Skyler Shiny Chalky Gray frames, while expanding to a few new countries.

Starting in the United States and Canada, you’ll be able to say, “Hey Meta, start Live AI,” and have the Meta AI “see what you see continuously and converse with you more naturally,” similar to Gemini Live except that you get hands-free insights into what you’re doing.

Live AI rolled out to Early Access last December, but is “coming soon” for general availability, suggesting Meta thinks it’s ready for widespread use. Meta suggests you try use cases like asking for help on recipe steps while you cook or holding an in-depth conversation about a landmark, without needing to ask “Hey Meta” before every question.

A photo of a model wearing Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses in the Skyler Shiny Chalky Gray style

Live AI will let you look at a grocery store item and ask Meta about its nutritional value or what to cook with it. (Image credit: Meta)

Live Translation is also leaving Early Access, so all Ray-Ban users will be able to hold inter-language conversations between English, French, Italian, and Spanish by saying “Hey Meta, start live translation.” This should be available with the latest update.

You can currently send messages or call folks via Messenger or WhatsApp on your smart glasses; now, Meta is adding Instagram to the list with the same messaging and audio/ video calling capabilities.

Outside of North America, many European users don’t have access to key Meta AI smarts, but that’s about to change. Meta says that next week, EU users will be able to ask Meta AI about what they’re looking at and get contextual responses. They won’t have access to the new Live AI tools, however.

Last week, Meta rolled out an update that gave EU users access to music streaming apps like Spotify and Apple Music, as well as new voices designed to be “more natural and lifelike.” Now, Meta will let EU users ask about what music they’re currently listening to — though only if English is your default language.

Meta is expanding Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses sales to India, Mexico, and the United Arab Emirates. This should bring the total number of supported countries to 18.

A photo of a Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses in the Skyler Shiny Chalky Gray style sitting atop a white-and-green towel next to the glasses charging case.

(Image credit: Meta)

Prospective Ray-Ban Meta buyers have new styles and lens color combos to choose from today. The Skyler Shiny Chalky Gray glasses have a unique style and Transitions lenses so they can work indoors for people with a prescription.

If you prefer something a little less flashy, the Skyler Shiny Black frames now come with G15 Green or clear lenses for the first time. And there are many other Headliner and Wayfarer frames available, too.

All Ray-Ban Meta glasses have a 12MP camera, 32GB of storage for photos and videos, built-in mics and speakers, and hours of battery life. We suspect that Meta will release Oakley smart glasses soon with the same smarts but a new style, escalating the smart glasses war with other brands.