Ethereum price has imploded this year as it suffered a $244 billion wipeout, with its market cap crashing from $482 billion in November last year to $238 billion today. ETH has dropped below $2,000 and technicals suggest that it has more downside to run. So, why has ETH price plunged, and what next?
Ethereum is no longer the most profitable player in crypto
Third-party data by TokenTerminal shows that Ethereum is no longer the most profitable player in the crypto industry, a crown it held for years. The data shows that Ethereum has made just $215 million this year.
While this is a lot of money, it has been overtaken by other networks. Tether has already made $1.04 billion, while Tron just crossed the $700 mark. Ethereum has been passed by other key players in the crypto industry, like Circle, Jito, Solana, and Uniswap.
This performance is mostly because many users have started avoiding the Ethereum network in most activities. For example, Tron has become the biggest chain for Tron transactions, as the network handles over $70 billion daily because of its lower fees.
Users interested in Ethereum’s security have mostly opted to use its layer-2 networks like Base, Arbitrum, and Optimism. While Ethereum protocols still lead in the decentralized exchange (DEX) sector, layer-2 networks are gaining market share.
Spot ETH ETFs are bleeding assets
Ethereum price has crashed as the spot ETH ETFs continue shedding assets. Data by SoSoValue shows that these funds have shed assets in the last four consecutive weeks. They have lost over $703 million in the last four weeks, the longest losing streak this year.
Spot Ethereum ETFs have now had a cumulative inflow of just $2.4 billion compared to Bitcoin’s $45 billion. They hold about $6.97 billion in assets, much lower than what the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (GBTC) had at its peak.
Ethereum ETFs have become unpopular because the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected these funds to have staking. Staking is a situation where users delegate their coins to securing a blockchain. They are then compensated each month.
As such, holders prefer holding Ethereum instead of these funds. According to StakingRewards, Ethereum has a reward rate of 3.17%, lower than other popular chains like Solana, BNB Chain, Tron, and Avalanche. Even so, users prefer generating this yield instead of just holding these ETFs.
Ethereum price has plunged as investors remain pessimistic about the network. Just this week, analysts at Standard Chartered lowered their Ethereum price target from $10,000 to $6,000.
Ethereum price technical analysis
ETH price chart | Source: TradingView
The weekly chart shows that the ETH price has plunged in the past few weeks. It formed a triple-top pattern whose upper side was at $4,050, and whose neckline was at $2,120. This is one of the most bearish patterns in the market. It has now moved below that neckline.
Ethereum price is about to form a mini death cross as the spread between the 50-week and 100-week moving averages crossed each other.
ETH price is also hovering at the 61.8% Fibonacci Retracement level. Also, it has moved below the Ichimoku cloud indicator. Therefore, the path of the least resistance for the coin is bearish, with the next point to watch being at $1,250, the ultimate support of the Murrey Math Lines tool. This price is about 35% below the current level.
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