Ether suffered steep losses this week, falling 15% from Wednesday to Friday and reaching $2,625, its lowest point since July.
Roughly $460 million in leveraged long positions were liquidated during the two-day decline, deepening ETH’s retreat to 47% below its Aug. 24 all-time high.
Derivatives demand remains muted as cautious traders wait for signs of renewed momentum.
Funding Rates Edge Higher but Remain Neutral
ETH perpetual futures saw annualized funding rise to around 6% on Friday, up from 4% the week before.
Under typical market balance, funding tends to fluctuate between 6% and 12%, meaning conditions have not yet reached strongly bullish territory even with the recent uptick.
The move comes amid increasing macroeconomic uncertainty, which is weighing on crypto leverage activity.
US Economic Indicators Point to Rising Consumer Strain
A University of Michigan survey found that 69% of consumers expect unemployment to increase within the next year — more than double last year’s reading.
Survey director Joanne Hsu said, “Cost-of-living concerns and income worries dominate consumer views of the economy across the country.”
Additional pressure is coming from the housing market.
Home Depot CEO Ted Decker said this week the company continues “to see softer engagement in larger discretionary projects,” citing a 40-year low in housing turnover.
Institutional Outflows Hit Spot Ethereum ETFs
Ether investors are also reacting to nine consecutive sessions of net outflows from spot ETH ETFs.
Approximately $1.33 billion has exited these funds in that period as institutions scale back exposure to higher-risk assets.
The US dollar has strengthened to a six-month high, reflecting increased demand for cash amid concerns over artificial intelligence sector valuations and broader economic signals.
Market Makers Increasingly Position for a Bottom
Despite the decline, top traders at OKX were increasing long positions as Ether fell from $3,200 to $2,700 during the week.
Confidence received an additional boost following strong results from Nvidia and comments from New York Fed president John Williams suggesting rate cuts may come soon.
Several publicly traded crypto-related companies holding large ETH reserves — including BitMine Immersion and ShapeLink Gaming — are trading at discounts of more than 16% to the value of their Ether holdings.
Market makers now view $2,650 as a potential bottom, though a sustained recovery likely depends on renewed ETF inflows and clearer evidence that US monetary policy is shifting toward easing.
Ether returning to the $3,200 level may take several weeks, according to analysts monitoring derivatives flows.
