Ethereum Sinks to $1,628 Amid $1.1B Liquidations as Bitmine Nears 5% Supply Target

Ethereum News

Ethereum has slid into one of the most pessimistic stretches of 2026, with social sentiment collapsing into an extreme fear zone as the token trades near its lowest levels of the year. On-chain analytics show the ratio of positive to negative commentary on Ethereum near 1.09, one of the weakest readings of the year, with bearish posts dominating discussion after months of underperformance against Bitcoin. The contrast with April is stark: the crowd flashed extreme greed when ETH traded above $2,400, an ideal sell point, and the token has since shed roughly 32%. Analysts note such capitulation has historically preceded rebounds, drawing a direct parallel to the despair that marked a local bottom in April 2025.

Over the past 24 hours, ETH fell roughly 4% to about $1,628, tracking a broader sell-off that wiped more than $1.1 billion in leveraged positions across the market in a single day. Bitcoin slipped from $64,100 toward $61,049, while XRP lost the $1.15 level, underscoring that weakness was not confined to Ethereum. The total crypto market capitalization contracted 3.46% to $2.12 trillion. Liquidation data revealed a sharp imbalance: roughly $331 million in long positions were closed against $1.84 billion in shorts, a 5.5-to-one skew that signals violent moves could follow any sudden directional shift in this fragile environment.

Price action turned brittle after ETH failed to defend the $1,700 threshold, sliding beneath the $1,680 and $1,665 levels as an ascending trendline on the hourly chart gave way. The asset also dropped below the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement of its move from the $1,505 low to the $1,719 peak, and now trades under its 100-hour moving average. Traders flag $1,610 as the first line of defense; a clean break of $1,585 would likely open the door to deeper losses. On the upside, reclaiming $1,710 is the pivotal task — a decisive move above it could revive momentum toward the $1,750 and $1,840 zones.

Against the bearish backdrop, accumulation by large holders continued. Tom Lee-backed Bitmine added roughly 75,000 ETH worth about $123 million over an eight-hour window, with the purchases executed through Kraken and FalconX, according to on-chain tracking. The acquisition lifts the firm's known Ethereum holdings to approximately 4.59% of the total circulating supply, edging closer to its stated goal of nearing the 5% mark. It ranks among the largest visible Ether accumulation campaigns currently observable on-chain. The steady buying contrasts sharply with the broader retreat in sentiment, suggesting some deep-pocketed participants view current prices as an entry rather than an exit.

Capital flows have begun to diverge across products. On June 8, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $91.37 million in net outflows, while Ethereum ETFs attracted $82.37 million in net inflows — a split hinting at selective institutional appetite despite spot-market weakness. The futures market, meanwhile, has undergone a sweeping reset: total ETH open interest across exchanges fell about 25% to $12.6 billion from $16.6 billion in May. Nearly 480,000 ETH also left major exchanges in recent days, trimming available supply. The combined deleveraging and shrinking exchange balances place heightened importance on the $1,500 support, viewed by many as the last barrier before a slide toward $1,000.

On-chain metrics paint a picture of intense capitulation gripping the wider bear market. More than 8 million BTC are now held at a loss, underscoring the scale of the recent reset, while Ethereum's profitability profile has compressed dramatically. The portion of ETH supply sitting at more than three times profit has collapsed to 11%, the lowest reading since February 2017 and a cohort that exceeded 50% at the peak of prior cycles. Both assets are deep in the red year-to-date, with ETH down roughly 46% and Bitcoin off about 31%. Analysts argue these stress phases often separate long-term conviction holders from short-term speculators, framing the drawdown as a reassessment window rather than a final verdict.

COINOTAG's proprietary 42-indicator composite scoring engine rates the $1,613.44 support at 80/100, the strongest level on our grid, anchored by a confluence of the Fibonacci 0.114 retracement and the prior-day low. Below it, the $1,505.68 floor scores 73/100, reinforced by Donchian Lower and swing-low readings. To the upside, the $1,699.22 resistance carries a 72/100 rating, built on the prior-day high and the R2 pivot. Derivatives data shows a 0.0011% funding rate, $6.39 billion in open interest, and a long/short account ratio of 2.97 — 74.8% long — a crowded stance that risks a squeeze. With RSI at 26.38, a bearish MACD and the Fear & Greed Index at 9, our bias stays defensive: losing $1,505.68 invalidates any near-term recovery thesis.