ETC price prediction is back in focus as Ethereum Classic breaks decisively out of months of sideways action.
The token has moved sharply higher over the past week, with a strong push over the past 24 hours in particular.
After a long stretch of consolidation, ETC now looks to be forming a genuine uptrend, and traders are watching whether the current push toward resistance can hold or needs to cool off first.
Per DefiLlama data, ETC price today sits at $8.61, with a market cap of $1.36B on a 158.12M circulating supply against a 210.7M max supply.
24-hour volume is strong at $319.74M, with open interest at $77.9M.
CoinGlass shows ETC at $8.53, up 6.39% in 24 hours, with a market cap of $1.35B on a 158.11M circulating supply matching the 210.70M total and max supply. 
Futures volume over 24 hours is $297.66M against $46.52M spot, and open interest here is $111.00M.
Network activity looks healthy too, per Blockscout: daily transactions sit at 9.46K, total addresses have crossed 700 million, and gas fees remain under $0.01, cheap costs that keep the chain usable even during volatile moves.
This ETC price analysis from CoinGlass shows a sharp short-term move: down 4.76% on the 4-hour but up 6.56% over 24 hours and 17.95% for the week. 30-day gain is 33.11%, 90-day is 22.80%, and 180-day is a smaller 3.30%.
YTD ETC is down 25.45%, and it remains down 58.84% over the past year, though the all-time figure is a modest positive 1.03%. This is a genuine bounce, but the longer-term trend is still working against it.
Positioning leans long. Binance's ETC long short ratio reads 1.5381 by accounts, OKX 1.49, and Binance's top traders lean further long at 1.8604 (accounts) and 2.8512 (positions), pointing to confident derivatives trading activity behind the move.
24h liquidations hit $493.23K, with shorts taking the bigger hit at $297.46K against $195.77K in longs, consistent with a short squeeze on the move up.
Binance leads volume at $107.79M, then LBank ($53.07M) and OKX ($34.98M).
Open interest sits at $77.9M on DefiLlama and $111.00M on CoinGlass, both climbing with the $ETC price.
Combined with the long-skewed ratios and short-heavy liquidations, this looks like real buying interest rather than shorts just covering, though it also raises the stakes if momentum stalls near resistance.
On the ETC daily chart, tracked via TradingView, ETC broke out of a long channel consolidation and has been forming higher highs since, building a clean ascending trendline structure along the way.
The token took support at 5.998, ran toward 9, pulled back to retest 7.168, and bounced again, a pattern that suggests real underlying demand rather than a one-off spike.
RSI sits at 70.00, right at the edge of overbought, so a pause near current levels wouldn't be unusual.
Price is now testing resistance. A break and hold above this zone opens the door to 10.093, then 11.501 and 13.501 further out, though those higher levels need sustained buying to reach.
Losing 7.168 would put 5.998 back in focus as the deeper support.
The Ethereum Classic price prediction outlook leans bullish while the trendline and higher-high structure hold, backed by rising open interest and strong volume.
RSI near 70 suggests some caution, though, and ETC's steep YTD and 1-year declines are a reminder this is a recovery move within a longer downtrend.
A hold above 7.168 keeps the path toward 10.093 open; losing it would shift focus back to 5.998.
The clearest risk is that this rally sits inside a much larger downtrend; ETC is still down over 58% on a 1-year basis, so a stall near resistance wouldn't be surprising.
RSI near 70 on the daily chart adds to that risk, and the long-heavy positioning across exchanges means a sharp reversal could trigger a fast unwind. Broader market conditions for this layer-1 blockchain network will likely matter as much as ETC-specific catalysts from here.
As per the CoinGabbar analyst desk, the shift from consolidation into a genuine higher-high trend, backed by rising open interest and healthy network transaction activity, is a constructive signal.
Still, RSI this close to overbought means confirmation above resistance matters more than chasing the current candle.
ETC has built a clean recovery structure, respecting its ascending trendline and holding support on each pullback.
Whether it pushes through toward 10.093 and beyond depends on buyers defending 7.168, while an RSI near 70 and the token's steep longer-term downtrend remain the clearest reasons to stay cautious on size.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile, and readers should conduct their own research before making any investment decisions.