Despite the short term spike back above $150, Ethereum is showing signals to trade lower in the coming days as users await the Istanbul hard fork on December 7^th 2019.

The price of ETH/USD has been in a sharp downtrend since hitting a yearly high of $360 at the end of June. Despite testing the resistance level of the bearish channel a couple of times, the latest on 18 Nov at $184, bulls are yet to take control of the market as witnessed in the first half of the year.

Trading at $153.88 USD, as at time of writing, ETH/USD bulls are struggling to keep the daily close above $153 USD, the minor support level. A break below the level spells doom for the pair signaling a drop towards the lower support levels at $140, $135 and $131 USD.

The Istanbul hard fork is set to occur in a matter of days, bringing developmental upgrades to the Ethereum network as ETH 2.0 gets ever nearer. However, investors remain uninterested in the token as volumes traded continued to dwindle despite the hike in price in the past 72 hours.

Looking closely at the hourly charts, the price bounced off the wedge support signaling a possible run-up to the upper resistance level at $156. However, the squeeze in volumes paints a dull picture. Can the bears push the price towards the

As is with other contentious hard forks, investors panic buy the token in hopes of an extra token if the chain splits. While no rush is yet to be seen on Ethereum on the upcoming Istanbul hard fork, the next week may provide a chance for buyers to fill their bags before the event.

If ETH/USD breaks above the resistance on the hourly charts, the price may well spike towards the $200 mark. Can bulls make it possible?