Crypto Market Slumps as Ether Rally Fades, Bitcoin Drops Under $96K

Ether’s Short-Lived Rally to $2,850 Ends as Broader Crypto Market Declines

Ethereum’s ether (ETH) briefly surged to $2,850 on Monday, outperforming the broader crypto market before reversing course and slipping back to $2,730. The rally, which some traders attributed to a “catch-up” move rather than true strength, was ultimately overshadowed by a broader market downturn.

In a relatively quiet session due to the U.S. Presidents’ Day holiday, ETH initially jumped 7%, while bitcoin (BTC) declined from over $97,000 to $95,500. At the same time, the CoinDesk 20 Index slipped 2%, reflecting the wider selling pressure across digital assets.

This pattern of short-lived ETH rallies followed by market-wide declines has played out multiple times in recent weeks. In late January and early February, ether briefly soared 10% to $3,400, only to see a sharp sell-off that sent BTC down 13% and ETH plunging 35% to near $2,000.

Monday’s ETH rally came amid growing concerns about the memecoin sector. Tokens such as LIBRA, tied to Argentine political figures, and the BNB Chain-based BROCCOLI token, which gained attention after former Binance CEO CZ referenced his dog, have sparked controversy.

According to Aran Hawker, CEO of trading platform CoinPanel, ether’s latest move was less about fundamental strength and more about repositioning within the market.

“This isn’t ETH breaking out—it’s just catching up to where it should be,” Hawker told CoinDesk in a Telegram message. “We’ve seen some traders rotate funds from Solana (SOL) back into ETH, but the overall market trend remains unchanged. If the broader downturn continues, ETH’s gains could quickly vanish.”

Others see potential for a bigger shift. Joel Kruger, a strategist at LMAX Group, suggested ether could be nearing the end of its prolonged downtrend against BTC, which has been in place since 2021.

“If ETH can reclaim key levels on the ETHBTC ratio, we may finally see a meaningful reversal,” Kruger said in a market note Monday.

Meanwhile, derivatives data indicates a growing interest in ETH relative to BTC. CoinGlass data shows ETH futures open interest rose 12% in the past 24 hours to 9.27 million contracts, worth nearly $2.6 billion. In contrast, BTC futures open interest edged up just 1%.

With macroeconomic uncertainty and regulatory developments on the horizon, traders will be watching closely to see if ether can sustain its momentum or if this rally will once again fade into a broader market slump.