ETH Cracks $2,156 After 20% Crash As $306M Liquidations Mount

• Ethereum drops to $2,156 intraday before recovering to $2,290 as $306.96 million in liquidations flush leveraged positions within 24 hours.
• BitMine Immersion Technologies reports over $6 billion in unrealized losses on its 4.24 million ETH treasury, highlighting concentration risk across institutional holders.
• Recovery requires reclaiming $2,782, while a close below $2,156 opens downside toward the $1,800 demand zone.

Ethereum price today trades near $2,290 after crashing to $2,156, its lowest level since October 2024. ETH’s crash came alongside Bitcoin’s drop to $74,500, triggered by Trump’s hawkish Fed Chair nomination and Iran port explosion. However, ETH underperformed BTC significantly, falling over 20% compared to Bitcoin’s 15% decline.

$306 Million Liquidation Wave Hits Long Positions

The derivatives market bore the brunt of the crash. Over the past 24 hours, $306.96 million in ETH positions were liquidated, with $213.92 million coming from longs and $93.04 million from shorts. The 2.3x imbalance shows leveraged bulls were caught heavily offside.

Open interest dropped 4.14 percent to $28.12 billion as positions were forcibly closed. Options volume surged 35.54 percent to $1.96 billion as traders scrambled to hedge downside exposure.

On Binance, top trader long/short ratio by accounts sits at 3.32, meaning the majority remained bullish into the breakdown. When leverage is stacked this heavily on one side, liquidation cascades accelerate selling pressure beyond what spot markets alone would produce.

BitMine $6 Billion Loss Exposes Institutional Concentration Risk

The crash exposed vulnerabilities among institutional ETH holders. BitMine Immersion Technologies reported over $6 billion in unrealized losses tied to its 4.24 million ETH treasury position and staking activity.

The company pursued an Ethereum heavy treasury approach, concentrating exposure in a single crypto asset. President Erik Nelson left during the period of financial strain, marking a significant leadership transition. BitMine recently expanded authorized shares from 500 million to 50 billion, raising dilution concerns among investors.

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The situation highlights how corporate treasury strategies that worked during the 2024 rally have become liabilities in the current environment. Any forced selling from distressed institutional holders would add supply pressure to an already weak market.

Bollinger Band Breakdown Confirms Capitulation

On the daily chart, Ethereum crashed through the lower Bollinger Band at $2,312.88, a technical signal that typically indicates oversold conditions or capitulation. The 20 day SMA sits at $2,940.59 with the upper band at $3,568.30, showing how far price has deviated from the mean.

The Supertrend indicator remains firmly bearish at $2,782.37. Price has now broken below the November consolidation range that held between $2,800 and $3,500, confirming a structural shift from range trading to downtrend continuation.

The $2,156 low represents a 55 percent decline from the September highs near $4,800. The current bounce to $2,290 offers no confirmation of reversal, only a pause in the selling.

Outlook: Will Ethereum Go Up?

The trend remains firmly bearish while price trades below the Supertrend level and institutional selling risk persists.

• Bullish case: A daily close above $2,782 would reclaim the Supertrend and signal that the $2,156 low marked capitulation. That move requires both macro stabilization and confidence that distressed institutional holders will not force sell.

Bearish case: A close below $2,156 would confirm breakdown of the October 2024 support and expose the $1,800 demand zone. With $6 billion in unrealized institutional losses and macro headwinds intact, that scenario carries meaningful probability.

Related: Bitcoin Price Prediction: BTC Crashes To $74K as Warsh Fed Nomination & Iran Tensions Spark $266M Outflows