ETH finally leaves the range – ZiC as an alternative to leverage?

Higher lows have been forming since late November, lower highs capped the upside around the low $3Ks and volatility kept compressing. Yesterday's move finally pushed price out of that range, and so far ETH is holding above the former resistance.

The setup looks constructive, especially with staking at record levels and ETF flows improving, but January has been a rough environment to trade aggressively. I am bullish on ETH, just not interested in the usual ways people try to play breakouts. Selling spot to re-enter higher feels counterproductive, and leverage trading in this kind of chop is mostly a game of avoiding liquidation wicks.

After what happened to leveraged trades last year, leverage just feels like a bad deal. Too many people got rekt even when they were right on direction. The cleaner alternative I came across is borrowing at 0% interest on Nexo and using that to add spot exposure. No funding rates, no constant position management, and no pressure from intraday swings. Everything is set upfront, which takes a lot of the noise out compared to leverage trading.

If ETH builds on the breakout, the added exposure is already in place. If it goes sideways for a while, there is nothing to adjust or react to. It feels less like trading momentum and more like positioning for a move that may take time to develop.

At this point it is just about patience and seeing whether the breakout actually follows through.