Ethereum (ETH) declined 2.6% on September 15 to trade at $2,446, trading lower ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision scheduled for September 16.
Major Exchange Outflows Signal Holding Behavior
Analyst Ali Martinez reported that 140,000 ETH, valued at approximately $350 million, exited exchanges within a 96-hour period. The large outflows indicate investors are choosing to hold Ethereum rather than sell, despite predictions from Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan that the Fed will raise interest rates by 25 basis points.
Data from Santiment shows that exchange-held ETH has declined significantly, dropping from 22.9 million coins in June 2020 to 6.06 million currently. The decline reflects movement of Ethereum into staking, ETFs, long-term holdings, and treasury companies.
Institutional Demand and Futures Interest Rise
Ethereum ETFs recorded $121.02 million in inflows during the week, marking the fifth consecutive week of positive flows since August 21. Open interest on Deribit reached $11.77 billion, with $700 million added since September 12, suggesting increased demand for Ethereum futures positions.
On Binance, the Ethereum long-to-short ratio rose to 3.10, representing the highest reading since June.
Technical Weakness Emerges
Ethereum price moved below support at the lower trendline of an ascending channel following increased selling pressure. If the downtrend continues and ETH closes below $2,380, the cryptocurrency could retest support at $2,200. Technical indicators including the RSI trending lower and red, shrinking AO bars suggest growing bearish momentum.
