Ethereum slumped to $2,315 on Bitstamp, dropping $200 for the day to reach its lowest price tag since the breakout rally in mid-August. The decline accompanied a broader cryptocurrency market downturn on Thursday morning.
Market pressures stemmed from multiple factors, including a wider crash in Asian markets—such as an 8 percent plunge in the KOSPI and a 6 percent decline in the Nikkei—as well as macro pressure following a Consumer Price Index (CPI) announcement and geopolitical reports concerning the United States and Iran.
For Ethereum specifically, open interest surged following the CPI reading, with traders piling into downside momentum and creating a comfortable environment for short positions, according to Daan Crypto Traders. Additionally, market maker Wintermute continued building on its short positions. Onchain Lens reported that Wintermute holds $75.45 million in shorts on Hyperliquid, representing 86.4 percent of its $87.34 million in open positions, with Ethereum serving as one of its largest short holdings at $18.33 million.
Ethereum exchange-traded funds also saw a reversal, recording nearly $130 million in outflows after generating close to $25 million in net inflows on Tuesday.
The extreme price moves resulted in substantial liquidations across the derivatives market. Data from CoinGlass indicates that $293 million in leveraged positions was wiped out over a 24-hour period, with long positions accounting for approximately 92 percent of the total. Ethereum longs accounted for nearly $270 million of the wrecked positions, while Bitcoin followed with $203 million in liquidations.
