Ether dips below $2,000 amid record-breaking futures open interest of 16 million ETH

Ether dropped below the $2,000 level on Thursday as selling pressure accelerated, even as futures market activity climbed to new highs — a divergence that underscores growing bearish positioning.

The cryptocurrency has weakened amid a broader risk-off environment, falling nearly 8% over the past week and more than 5% in the last 24 hours. The move marks ETH’s first break below $2,000 since late March, according to CoinDesk data.

Investor appetite appears to be fading. Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, said ether is losing traction as it struggles to offer compelling returns, particularly in a higher-yield environment. He also noted that Bitmine, one of the few steady buyers, is expected to scale back its purchases.

Meanwhile, derivatives data tells a different story. Open interest in ether futures has risen for a third straight session, reaching a record 16.39 million ETH, or roughly $32.5 billion in notional value, according to Coinglass. The increase reflects growing activity in leveraged markets.

However, the combination of rising open interest, declining spot prices, and a negative seven-day open interest-adjusted cumulative volume delta (CVD) suggests that the flow is skewed toward aggressive short selling. A negative CVD indicates that traders are actively placing bearish bets through market orders.

Institutional flows echo this trend. U.S.-listed spot Ether ETFs have seen $401 million in net outflows so far this month, reversing April’s $354 million in inflows, based on SoSoValue data.

Sentiment has also been pressured by developments within the Ethereum ecosystem. The Ethereum Foundation has experienced several high-profile departures, including contributors Carl Beekhuizen and Julian Ma, raising concerns about long-term direction.

Thielen said these exits may reflect a broader shift in confidence, with some early supporters no longer aligned with Ethereum’s original vision.

The reassessment extends to prominent market participants. David Hoffman, co-founder of Bankless, recently disclosed that he has exited his ETH position, suggesting that the long-standing “ETH as money” thesis may have largely played out.

Analysts are increasingly questioning how effectively Ethereum’s leadership in sectors such as decentralized finance and tokenization translates into value for its native token.

“Ethereum’s infrastructure remains strong, but the link between that strength and ETH’s price is being reevaluated,” Web3 research firm House of Chimera said in a post on X.

While Ethereum continues to lead in developer activity, with millions of GitHub contributions, analysts note that strong fundamentals do not always translate into positive price performance, particularly in the short term.