Ethereum Holds $2,135 as Korean Fund Posts $33M Loss, ETH/BTC at 10-Month Low

Ethereum News

A Seoul-based funeral services firm, Bumo Sarang, disclosed an unrealized loss of roughly 45 billion won — about $33 million — on its position in the T-REX 2X Long BMNR Daily Target ETF, a leveraged product engineered to deliver 200% of the daily move in Bitmine Immersion Technologies, the largest publicly traded holder of Ethereum. The loss remains on paper until the firm exits, but the disclosure highlights South Korea's appetite for amplified crypto-linked exposure. Local regulators have repeatedly warned retail and corporate participants about the magnified drawdowns embedded in leveraged exchange-traded products tied to digital asset equities and treasury companies.

Analyst Michaël van de Poppe argues that ether's current range near $2,125 represents an accumulation zone rather than a capitulation phase. His thesis rests on three pillars: sovereign bond yields, particularly in Japan, appear topped and could rotate capital back into risk assets and DeFi protocols; the CLARITY Act faces a key Senate vote in June, which he views as structurally positive for Ethereum builders and institutional flows; and the ETH/BTC pair has rejected 0.0325 to drift toward 0.026 support, with the daily RSI under 30 flashing oversold. He frames sentiment as deeply negative, which historically aligns with late-stage bottoms rather than early downturns.

Vitalik Buterin outlined three near-term privacy initiatives designed to make confidential transactions a native network feature rather than a workaround layered on by third-party tools. Account abstraction and FOCIL — fork-choice enforced inclusion lists — aim to prevent block builders from censoring transactions by allowing a validator committee to propose lists that builders must honor under the consensus mechanism. Keyed nonces and access-layer changes complete the trio, layering protections at the protocol level. The push lands as the Ethereum Foundation navigates a wave of senior departures tied to a redefined mandate around its role within the broader ecosystem.

Market maker Wintermute described ether as the "wrong asset for this macro" after a 10.2% weekly drop pushed the ETH/BTC ratio to 0.0275, its lowest reading since July 2025. The firm flagged softer funding rates, elevated relative implied volatility, and persistent underperformance across both spot and derivatives venues. Spot Ethereum ETFs compounded the pressure with $255 million in net weekly outflows, the largest withdrawal since late January. Bitcoin-tracked products printed outflows over the same period, suggesting the rotation reflects broad risk-off positioning rather than ether-specific weakness, though the relative bear-market signature in ETH/BTC remains the standout.

Onchain flow data reinforces the bearish positioning. Ether reserves on the largest centralized exchange rose from 3.4 million ETH to nearly 3.8 million ETH across May, while aggregate exchange balances climbed from 14.5 million to 14.94 million over the same window. Rising venue balances typically reflect inventory rotating into position for sale rather than long-term custody, expanding the available sell-side liquidity buyers must absorb to drive a sustained reversal. The buildup coincides with the ETF outflow streak and broader derivatives softness, leaving spot demand the primary swing factor for any near-term price recovery attempt.

Despite the surface-level weakness, wallet cohort data suggests deep-pocketed participants are quietly adding exposure. Addresses holding between 1 million and 10 million ETH expanded their balances from 6.15 million to 6.54 million ether between May 1 and May 20, accumulating roughly 390,000 ETH during the very window in which retail sentiment collapsed. The divergence between exchange inflows from smaller wallets and silent accumulation by the largest cohort is a recurring late-correction pattern in prior cycles. Combined with the oversold ETH/BTC reading and the pending regulatory catalyst, it gives contrarian buyers a structural framework even as headline metrics remain weak.

Ether trades near $2,135 with a 24-hour gain of 1.36%, but the broader structure remains a downtrend. Immediate support sits at $2,092, with deeper levels at $1,942 and $1,876 if selling resumes. Resistance overhead clusters at $2,148, $2,209, and $2,266. RSI at 36.83 sits in oversold territory yet has not turned, and the MACD continues to print a bearish signal, leaving short-term momentum unconvincing. A daily close above $2,209 on rising volume would invalidate the bearish thesis and open room toward $2,266. A breakdown beneath $2,092 would reaffirm sellers and expose $1,942 next.