$ETH Panic Sweeps the Crypto World: Ethereum's Thousand-Dollar Era Approaching

As panic sentiment in the cryptocurrency market spreads like a tide, all positive news seems powerless. The once-mainstream belief in Ethereum is gradually descending into a deep abyss. The arrival of the thousand-dollar mark is no longer market speculation but an inevitable result of multiple negative factors resonating together. Currently, the crypto space is experiencing an unprecedented sell-off storm, with Ethereum at the center of this turbulence.

In the past 24 hours, this has become the "darkest hour" for the crypto market. The total global cryptocurrency market cap evaporated over $110 billion overnight. Ethereum led the decline among major coins, with a single-day drop once breaking through 11%, reaching a low of $2,256. As of now, the decline remains over 9%, with prices continuing to fluctuate at low levels. Accompanying this is a brutal liquidation wave. According to Coinglass data, over 420,000 traders faced liquidations across the network, with total liquidation amounts reaching $2.561 billion. More than 90% of these were long positions, with the largest single liquidation occurring in Ethereum trading, valued at $222 million. The collective liquidation of long positions has completely shattered the bullish forces in the market. Panic selling has become the dominant strategy, with everyone desperately trying to escape, fearing they will be the next victims of market liquidation.

This sharp decline is not accidental but the result of a concentrated outbreak of multiple negative macroeconomic, industry policy, and market sentiment factors. The shift in Federal Reserve policy became the first straw that broke the camel’s back. Kevin Woorh was nominated as the next Federal Reserve Chair, a decision-maker considered more "hawkish" than Powell, which sharply heightened market expectations of tightening liquidity. In a high-interest-rate environment, the dollar strengthened, and U.S. Treasury yields rose. Global funds withdrew from high-risk assets like cryptocurrencies and shifted to traditional safe-haven assets such as gold and the dollar. As a risk asset, Ethereum naturally bore the brunt. Meanwhile, the continuous delay of expectations for Fed rate cuts further weakened liquidity support in the crypto market. The drying up of funds caused Ethereum to lose its core upward momentum.

The withdrawal of institutional funds has further worsened Ethereum’s decline. Once an important support for the crypto market, spot ETFs have recently experienced continuous net outflows. Over the past week, investors withdrew more than $1.3 billion from Bitcoin-related funds. Leading funds like BlackRock and Grayscale have recorded negative flows. Institutional profit-taking and risk hedging triggered a chain reaction of market sell-offs. The movements of whales have also intensified market panic. Some whales transferred large amounts of Ethereum to exchanges, suspected of cashing out to cut losses. A "deep-sea whale" holding a massive long position in Ethereum was fully liquidated during the price plunge. The departure of whales removed a crucial support force from the market and shattered the confidence of ordinary investors, pushing it to freezing point.

From a technical perspective, Ethereum’s downtrend has long been established. The four-hour chart shows a clear "lower high, lower low" weak structure, with moving averages in a bearish alignment. The MACD continues to expand below the zero line, with bearish momentum dominating. Previously critical support levels have been repeatedly broken, and each rebound has become a new selling opportunity. The market has already formed a consensus to "short on rallies." Meanwhile, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index has entered the "Extreme Fear" zone. This self-reinforcing sentiment has created a vicious cycle of decline for Ethereum—further drops lead to more panic selling, which in turn accelerates the fall, seemingly without end.

More concerning is that this plunge is not just a short-term technical correction but a concentrated outbreak of long-standing market issues. Since the significant sell-off last October, the crypto market has been shrouded in gloom. Ethereum’s narrative of value has already been on shaky ground. Its so-called "application value" has failed to translate into real price support and remains mired in speculation. Under the pressures of tightening regulation, geopolitical tensions, and capital flight, Ethereum’s bullish logic has long vanished. Market expectations for it continue to decline, and downward movement has become the only trend.

Ethereum is now teetering on the edge of a cliff. Previous support levels have been repeatedly broken, and selling pressure is mounting. Bulls are powerless to respond. With panic sentiment fermenting and negative factors still unresolved, Ethereum’s downward path is far from over. The threshold of the thousand-dollar mark is slowly opening. For investors, the most rational choice at this moment is to recognize the market trend, stay away from high leverage, protect capital, and survive this storm—living is more important than anything else.