The price of Ethereum continued to slide for a fifth straight day on Monday, deepening fears that the market’s second-largest cryptocurrency could soon test the $2,000 psychological level.
ETH briefly fell to an eight-month low near $2,172 during Asian trading hours before stabilizing just above $2,200. The move caps a sharp decline of more than 25% from last week’s highs near $3,000, as liquidations, whale selling, and deteriorating macro sentiment converge.
Why is Ethereum price tanking?
Ethereum’s sell-off is being driven primarily by forced liquidations of leveraged long positions across the crypto market.
Data from CoinGlass shows that more than $757 million in leveraged positions were liquidated over the past 24 hours, with the bulk coming from bullish bets. Ethereum long traders absorbed a significant portion of the damage, with roughly $213.6 million liquidatenearly $182 million of that within the first 12 hours alone.
Liquidations create a feedback loop. As prices fall, leveraged positions are forcibly closed, triggering additional selling and pushing prices even lower. This dynamic has been in play since the weekend, when more than $2.4 billion in long positions were wiped out across crypto markets, leaving traders defensive and risk-averse.
Whale selling adds to downside pressure
Beyond liquidations, large holders have been actively selling into weakness. According to data from Santiment, wallets holding between 10,000 and 1 million ETH have offloaded billions of dollars’ worth of Ethereum over the past week.
This sustained distribution from whales has amplified downside pressure and contributed to growing unease among retail traders, who often interpret large-scale selling as a signal to exit.
Institutional flows have also turned negative. Spot Ethereum ETFs recorded nearly $327 million in net outflows over the past week, indicating that traditional investors are reducing exposure rather than stepping in to buy the dip.
Macro uncertainty weighs on risk appetite
Macroeconomic factors are compounding the pressure. U.S. President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve Chair has unsettled markets.
Warsh is widely viewed as hawkish, favoring tighter monetary conditions and balance-sheet discipline—policies that are typically unfavorable for speculative assets like crypto.
At the same time, a partial U.S. government shutdown that began over the weekend has added uncertainty, stalling regulatory progress and creating a data vacuum that further dampens investor confidence.
Ethereum technical analysis turns decisively bearish
From a technical perspective, Ethereum’s chart structure has deteriorated sharply.
On the daily timeframe, ETH has confirmed a breakdown from a rising wedge pattern, a bearish formation that often precedes sharp reversals. Following that move, price also fell below the neckline of a much larger inverse cup-and-handle pattern that has been forming since mid-2025—one of the most bearish continuation patterns in technical analysis.
The confirmation of multiple bearish patterns increases the probability that Ethereum’s downtrend will persist. If selling pressure continues, a test of the $2,000 psychological support becomes increasingly plausible.
Momentum indicators reinforce the bearish case. The MACD remains pointed lower, while the RSI has slipped into oversold territory. Although oversold conditions can sometimes spark short-term relief rallies, those bounces often fail in markets dominated by fear and forced selling.
At press time, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index stood at 14, placing the market firmly in extreme fear territory.
Outlook
Ethereum’s slide is being driven by a potent mix of leverage unwinds, whale distribution, institutional outflows, and tightening macro expectations. While a short-term bounce is possible given oversold conditions, the broader trend remains fragile.
Unless liquidations ease and confidence begins to return, ETH risks further downside with $2,000 now firmly in focus as the next major level traders are watching.
