Ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value, faced a significant downturn on Monday as fears surrounding a potential U.S.-led trade war weighed heavily on risk assets. Despite this crash, which saw Ether’s price plummet to nearly $2,000 on some exchanges, data suggests that investors took advantage of the lower prices to accumulate more coins.
According to analytics firm IntoTheBlock, nearly $1 billion worth of Ether exited centralized exchanges on Monday, marking the highest single-day net outflow since January 2024. “This indicates traders took advantage of the drop to accumulate ETH,” IntoTheBlock noted in a Telegram broadcast.
The rapid decline in Ether’s price led to liquidity issues in the market, causing dealers to scramble to offload futures. As prices later rebounded to around $2,800, overall sentiment remained bearish, with reports from UltraSound.Money indicating an unwinding of the deflationary effect resulting from Ethereum’s Merge.
Ether ETFs See Record Volume
In the midst of this volatility, Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded unprecedented trading volume on Monday, coinciding with President Donald Trump’s announcement regarding tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
Traders exchanged approximately $1.5 billion worth of shares across nine ETFs, with Bloomberg reporting that half of this volume came from BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA). While the overall flows were not extraordinary, it was notable that the ETFs garnered $83.6 million in net inflows on Monday, primarily benefiting Fidelity’s Ethereum Fund (FETH), despite ETHA, as the largest fund, seeing no net inflows.
As trading progressed, Eric Trump, the son of President Donald Trump, incited further market activity by encouraging his followers on X to invest in Ether, suggesting it was a favorable time to buy. This tweet contributed to the day’s extreme volatility, causing ETH’s price to spike to nearly $2,900. At the time of this writing, ETH was trading at $2,780, reflecting a 3.5% gain from the previous day.
In conclusion, while Ether’s drastic price movements indicate inherent market volatility, they also illustrate a complex landscape where astute investors may find opportunities. The ongoing dynamics surrounding global trade and investor sentiment will likely continue to play a pivotal role in shaping Ether’s trajectory in the near term.
