Ethereum (ETH) surged 5% on Wednesday while XRP (XRP) decided to sit this one out, staying locked inside a narrowing range that has traders buzzing about an imminent breakout.

Two of crypto's heavyweight tokens are telling very different stories right now. Ethereum is catching a bid and pushing through resistance zones that have rejected it repeatedly over the past month. XRP, meanwhile, is coiling tighter inside a triangle pattern that's starting to look like a spring waiting to snap.

Ethereum Pushes Higher After Breaking Key Resistance

Ethereum is trading near $3,110 after bouncing sharply from recent lows around $2,620. It's one of the strongest recovery moves the token has shown since November started, and the shift in momentum is hard to ignore.

The turning point came when buyers reclaimed the $3,016 level, which corresponds to the 0.382 Fibonacci retracement. That level had been acting as a dividing line between bullish and bearish short-term sentiment, and once it flipped back to support, the buying pressure accelerated.

The rally carried ETH into a liquidity zone between $3,100 and $3,140. This area has been a battleground over the past month, rejecting several attempts to push higher. For now, buyers are holding their ground, but the real test is still ahead.

The first major resistance sits near $3,205, where the 200-day exponential moving average aligns with a key retracement zone from last month's breakdown. If Ethereum can punch through that level, the path opens up toward $3,350 and potentially $3,660, which is where the previous selloff really picked up steam.

But if Ethereum gets rejected at $3,205, the narrative changes quickly. A failure there would likely send price back below $3,016, turning what looks like a trend reversal into just another short-term relief rally.

Momentum Indicators and Capital Flows Are Turning Positive

The 4-hour RSI is sitting near 67, showing solid buying pressure without entering overbought territory. That's a healthy sign for bulls who want to see momentum build without immediately running into exhaustion.

More importantly, the capital flows are shifting. According to Coinglass, Ethereum recorded approximately $62 million in net inflows on December 3. That's significant because it breaks a long streak of heavy outflow days that kept disrupting rallies and preventing any sustained upside momentum.

If inflows continue through mid-December, bulls have a real shot at sustaining this move. But the market is still fragile. A drop back under $2,978 would damage the technical structure and force the market back into defensive mode.

For now, though, sentiment is improving. Traders seem more willing to accumulate on dips rather than sell into any sign of weakness, which is exactly the kind of behavioral shift you need to see before a larger rally can take hold.

XRP Traders Are Watching for a Breakout

While Ethereum is making moves, XRP remains stuck inside a large triangle pattern that's been tightening for weeks. Price action is forming higher lows, which is constructive, but sellers keep showing up near the falling trendline around $2.28 to $2.30.

The lower boundary near $2.00 has been acting as reliable support, consistently attracting buyers and preventing any deeper selloff. That's keeping XRP afloat, but it's also keeping it range-bound.

Until XRP clears that downtrend line decisively, every bounce is just that—a bounce, not a reversal. The market needs to see a confirmed breakout above $2.30 before the bulls can really take control.

If that breakout happens, the next targets are $2.41 and then $2.58, both of which capped previous rally attempts. Some technical indicators like the Supertrend and Parabolic SAR are starting to tilt positive, suggesting early signs of momentum building beneath the surface.

But the pattern still needs a decisive move to confirm which way this is going. A failure at resistance could easily pull price back toward $2.05 or even test the $2.00 support level again. Traders are watching closely, because when this triangle breaks, it's likely to move fast in whichever direction it chooses.

For now, XRP is the patient one, while Ethereum is showing what happens when momentum and capital flows align.