Ethereum fell 5.5% in three days on May 15, trading at $2,256. This is because Santiment recorded a realized profit of $74.58 million from wallets purchased at low prices of less than $2,000 in February, and is now distributing them to the top while they can still buy.
$ETH Daily chart: the lower wedge rail is the only thing that maintains this

$ETH The price is approaching the lower end of the rising wedge near $2,236. $ETHRecovery from February lows of $1,800. The 20 EMA at $2,300 and 50 EMA at $2,273 both acted as support through much of May before reversing above the price. This is a short-term bearish shift and marks the first time since early April that both EMAs were simultaneously overhead.
The MACD fell below the signal line and the histogram turned negative at -12.10, marking the first bearish cross since early April. Overhead, the 100 EMA at $2,337 and the 200 EMA at $2,572 are important levels when attempting a recovery.
$ETH May 16th Key Levels:
- Resistance: $2,273 (50 EMA), $2,300 (20 EMA), $2,337 (100 EMA), $2,572 (200 EMA)
- Support: $2,236 Lower Wedge Rail, $2,000 Psychological, $1,800 February Low
- MACD: bearish cross confirmed, histogram is -12.10
why $ETH Realized profits are soaring while falling
🤑 Ethereum just posted its highest network realized gain in three weeks. This may seem counterintuitive, even though realized profits jumped by $74.58 million. $ETHThe price of has fallen by up to 5.5% in the past 3 days. But here’s why:
📌 A much lower cost holder is… pic.twitter.com/YX6N6InkUX
— Santiment Intelligence (@SantimentData) May 14, 2026
Santimento recorded $74.58 million. $ETH The network realized a profit on May 15 amid a 5.5% price decline, hitting its highest price in three weeks. This seems contradictory until you look at who is selling it.
saved wallet $ETH In February and March, the price was below $2,000 during the peak of war fear and uncertainty, but even at $2,256 it is still rising. These holders see the current levels as a good enough opportunity and are choosing to sell on this decline rather than waiting for a higher exit.
Related: Shiba Inu Price Prediction: SHIB burn rate explodes to 1034%, but price still fails at $0.0000648
As the price compressed to near $2,241 on the 4th hour chart, on-chain trading volume spiked, but Santimento sees this as dispersion rather than panic. Santiment’s guiding principle is to be cautious but not aggressively bearish. The real bottom signal to watch for is widening realized losses, rather than surging profits.
Four consecutive days of ETF outflows tell the same story.
$ETH The spot ETF recorded an outflow of $5.65 million on May 14th, marking its fourth consecutive negative trading session. BlackRock’s ETHA led the way with an out of $13.21 million, partially offset by an in of Fidelity’s FETH of $6.88 million and an in of VanEck’s ETHV of $3.37 million.
In total, the four-day rolling brought in more than $156 million. $ETH Cumulative inflows are still $11.9 billion and total net assets are $13.45 billion, but the direction of the past week is clear.
$ETH Derivatives: volume up, position closing

Volume increased by 9.01% to $50.66 billion, while open interest decreased by 4.40% to $33.19 billion. Increasing volume while OI decreases means positions are closed to the move and new bets are placed. Binance Retail holds a long ratio of 2.6873 and OKX is showing 2.77, both of which are significantly long on the price decline.
Over 24 hours, longs absorbed $41.65 million in liquidations, while shorts totaled $21.03 million. Longs are twice as painful, but the short liquidation numbers show enough upside to suggest that some two-way volatility remains rather than a clean one-way flush.
Ethereum price prediction: May 16th top and bottom
- Upside: Holding $2,236 at the daily close, the wedge remains intact as the MACD histogram stabilizes. A retake of $2,273 brings the 50 EMA back to support. If realized gains compress towards zero, it would signal the end of the distribution phase and give the bulls a cleaner setup.
- Downside: A daily close below $2,236 breaks out of the wedge and starts at $2,000. ETF outflows will continue next week, widening the MACD histogram downwards and accelerating the decline. If realized losses start to spike, we will see a shift from distribution to capitulation.

