Ethereum price fell to $1,880 after failing to clear $2,000 as market sentiment weakened due to profit-taking, increased derivative leverage, and a sharp decline in US tech stocks.
According to data from crypto.news, Ethereum ($ETH) The price was trading around $1,882 at press time, and has fallen about 3% in the past 24 hours after hitting the $1,935-$1,950 range earlier in the week. Sellers pushed the stock below the psychological $2,000 barrier and the 100-day exponential moving average, ending a bull run that began in late June around $1,560.
Wall Street’s tech rout added pressure during Thursday’s trading. Magnificent Seven shares fell 4.8%, wiping out about $797 billion in market capitalization and marking its worst day since the tariff-induced crash in April 2025. The S&P 500 fell 1.2% and the Nasdaq 100 fell 1.9%, according to CoinDesk.
Alphabet’s decision to raise its 2026 capital spending forecast to up to $205 billion and Tesla’s lower-than-expected profits caused the stock price to fall. High-beta assets are under pressure as investors question whether the returns from artificial intelligence investments can justify the sector’s rising costs.
Ether absorbed more losses than Bitcoin, which remained close to $65,400, down less than 1%. This difference shows that investors remain cautious towards altcoins as capital moves away from riskier trades.
ETF inflows and rising leverage keep Ethereum’s recovery intact
The US Spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund recorded net inflows of $26.3 million on July 23, marking the fifth consecutive session of positive activity. BlackRock’s ETHA received $8.5 million, Fidelity’s FETH raised $14.9 million and Grayscale’s Mini Ether fund added $2.9 million, according to Farside Investors.
The latest total followed inflows of $38 million, $37.5 million and $72.7 million in the first three sessions of the week. While ETF demand remains positive, Thursday’s numbers were significantly lower than the previous day and failed to offset the selling in the spot market.
Institutional access has also expanded in Switzerland after BancaStato integrated Sygnum’s digital asset infrastructure. State Bank customers will now be able to trade Bitcoin, Ether, Solana and USD coins through their existing web and mobile banking platforms, adding a new regulated distribution channel. $ETH.
Derivatives traders increased their exposure as Ether approached resistance. Open interest increased by 600,000 $ETH Reached 14.6 million people in 2 days $ETHThis is the highest level since June 7, according to CoinGlass data.
Funding rates, which had been positive through most of July, briefly turned negative on Thursday for the first time since June 29. The change occurred as leveraged positions of $41.55 million, including longs of $34.4 million, were liquidated in 24 hours. The increase in open interest associated with negative funding exposes both bullish and bearish positions to liquidation.
U.S. spot demand has yet to match the recovery in ETFs. CryptoQuant’s Coinbase Premium Index has remained negative for almost three months, meaning that Ether continues to trade at a discount on Coinbase compared to offshore exchanges.
Ethereum needs to defend $1,850 to maintain ascending channel
4 hour chart ranking $ETH It is at the lower end of the ascending parallel channel that has guided the recovery since early July. Immediate support lies between $1,850 and $1,880, but if buyers recover $1,950, the channel cap could reach around $2,060.
According to cryptocurrency analyst Ali Martinez, the recent reaction has kept the channel structure in place.
“As long as this $1,850 support holds, I am watching for a move back toward the upper bound near $2,060.”
Short-term momentum remains weak. The 4-hour Relative Strength Index has fallen to 44.06, below the moving average of 52.62, while the -1.48 MACD line is below the 5.42 signal line. A negative histogram value of 6.90 indicates that sellers are still in control of the immediate movement.
On the daily chart, $ETH It is trading near the Ichimoku Kankoku line at $1,879 and above the upper limit of the front cloud at $1,816. Chaikin Money Flow remains positive at 0.07, indicating that net capital has not completely flowed out of the market despite the pullback.
CoinGlass’ weekly liquidation heatmap shows that leveraged positions are most concentrated around $1,900 to $1,910. The larger overhead cluster is located around $1,955-$1,965, and a rise in price could force a short-term liquidation and re-open the path towards $2,000.
Downside liquidity accumulated around $1,840 to $1,850 and then concentrated around $1,820. A four-hour close below the channel boundary and $1,850 would invalidate the immediate recovery setup and expose it to $1,816 and then $1,750 to $1,730.
A sustained decline in stock prices, rising bond yields or new inflationary pressures could deepen the collapse. Instead, bulls need to regain $1,910 and break out of the $1,950 to $1,965 supply zone before Ethereum makes another credible attempt at $2,000.
