As of this writing, Ethereum (ETH) has dropped 6.8% in the past 24 hours, trading at $4,173. Over the past week, the cryptocurrency has ranged between $4,206 and $4,659, marking a 10% decline over seven days and a 12% drop over the last 30 days.
The sell-off has coincided with a surge in trading activity. Ethereum’s 24-hour trading volume jumped 124% to $32.5 billion, while derivatives trading spiked 183% to $93.8 billion, according to Coinglass data. However, open interest fell 5.2% to $60.2 billion, indicating that traders are closing positions rather than opening new ones.
The market imbalance was also reflected in liquidations, with $495 million in ETH positions wiped out over the past day. Long traders bore the brunt, absorbing $478 million of the losses.
Whale Activity Adds to Bearish Sentiment
For the first time this month, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell four points to 46, pushing the market into “fear” territory. On-chain data shows that several large holders have been moving coins to exchanges, signaling increased sell-side pressure from whales. Short-term price action appears to be driven by risk aversion and profit-taking.
Ethereum had previously benefited from the Federal Reserve’s 0.25% rate cut last week—the first in nearly a year—which briefly pushed ETH toward $4,700. However, September has historically been one of the weakest months for cryptocurrency returns, and the recent reversal aligns with that trend.
Despite current pressures, upcoming catalysts like the Fusaka upgrade, growing institutional access through ETFs, and corporate treasury adoption could support Ethereum into Q4. Some analysts maintain a bullish outlook, forecasting ETH could surpass $5,000 by year-end if macro conditions stabilize.
Ethereum Technical Analysis
The short-term bearish trend is reinforced by ETH falling below its 20-day moving average. Momentum indicators and the MACD are firmly in sell territory, while the relative strength index (RSI) hovers near 40—approaching oversold levels but not yet extreme.
Bollinger Bands indicate that Ethereum is testing the lower band near $4,160, which serves as immediate support. The key support level lies at $4,150, and a break below this could open the way to $3,800. On the upside, ETH would need to reclaim $4,400 to restore bullish momentum, while a decisive move above $4,500 could pave the path toward $4,700.
