Ethereum Crashes to $2,800: Record ETF Outflows, 35% Sell-Off — and Why Some Analysts Still See a Bullish Setup

Ethereum is in full‑blown damage‑control mode.

By Friday, Ether (ETH) had plunged to the $2,700–$2,800 range, extending a brutal correction that has wiped roughly 35–40% off the second‑largest crypto asset since early October highs near $4,700. ^[1]

At the same time, spot Ethereum ETFs are seeing record redemptions, DeFi and corporate treasuries are sitting on billions in unrealized losses, and derivatives markets are being hit with wave after wave of forced liquidations. ^[2]

Yet under the surface, on‑chain data and market structure hint that this violent reset may also be laying the groundwork for Ethereum’s next major leg higher — echoing the thesis laid out days ago in CryptoSlate’s widely shared analysis of a 35% “whale sell-off” as a potentially bullish signal. ^[3]

Ethereum price today: from $4,700 peak to sub‑$2,800 in six weeks

As of November 21, real‑time market data shows ETH trading around $2,700–$2,800, down about 10–11% over the last 24 hours and roughly 15% on the week. ^[4]

Key datapoints:

Intraday range: multiple venues report lows just under $2,680–$2,700 and highs near $3,000 over the past 24 hours. ^[5]
Weekly performance: Ethereum is down around 15% this week, with the November drawdown approaching 30% according to independent price analysis. ^[6]
Drawdown from recent top: research houses like Trefis and Forbes estimate a ~35% slide from early October levels near $4,700 to the ~$3,000–$3,100 trading band seen earlier this week, before today’s capitulation. ^[7]

In other words: Ethereum has effectively round‑tripped back to price levels last seen in July 2025, erasing months of gains in just six weeks. ^[8]

Liquidity crunch and macro risk-off slam the entire crypto market

Today’s Ethereum crash is not happening in isolation. It’s the latest wave in a wider crypto and risk‑asset liquidation:

A sharp equity sell‑off ahead of Black Friday — including a roughly 4% drop in the S&P 500 — has spilled into digital assets, with analysts flagging a strong correlation between crypto and high‑growth tech stocks. ^[9]
CoinDesk reports that Bitcoin and Ether both fell more than 10% in the last 24 hours as a lingering liquidity crunch amplified price swings and pushed altcoins to double‑digit losses. ^[10]
A TradingView/Coinpedia recap notes that the total crypto market cap has slid to around $2.95–$2.94 trillion, with most major sectors — DeFi, GameFi, and SocialFi — down 3–4% on the day. ^[11]

On the derivatives side, liquidations have been savage:

A Coinpedia/TradingView report tallies ~$830–$840 million in 24‑hour liquidations, mostly from long positions in BTC and ETH. ^[12]
The Crypto Basic pegs total liquidations above $2 billion after Bitcoin briefly dipped toward $83,000 while Ethereum sliced through $2,800. ^[13]

Thin order books — still weakened from October’s crash — mean every incremental sell order pushes prices further than it would in a healthier market, turning what might have been a normal correction into a cascade of forced selling. ^[14]

ETF exodus: billions pulled from BTC & ETH products

If October was about speculative leverage unwinding, November’s story is about ETF money leaving the building.

According to new data from CoinDesk:

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have shed about $3.79 billion in November — the largest monthly outflow since launch.
Ethereum ETFs have recorded a record $1.79 billion in outflows over the same period. ^[15]

A separate analysis from AInvest, aggregating data from multiple providers, estimates that combined BTC and ETH ETF outflows in late 2025 have surpassed $4.2 billion, as institutions respond to a stronger dollar, fading expectations of near‑term Fed rate cuts, and growing macro uncertainty. ^[16]

The Economic Times goes further, highlighting that:

Ethereum’s slide toward $2,800 is being accelerated by ETF redemptions, with one report pointing to over $1.5 billion withdrawn in November alone from ETH products. ^[17]

At the same time, some capital is rotating into altcoins:

Solana and XRP ETFs are drawing steady net inflows even as BTC and ETH funds hemorrhage assets — a sign that large allocators aren’t abandoning crypto entirely, but are rebalancing away from the two largest coins. ^[18]

Market now treats ETH as “more risky” than Bitcoin

This rotation reinforces a narrative that started earlier this week: Ethereum is being priced as riskier than Bitcoin.

In a CoinDesk report first published on November 16, investment manager Timothy Peterson argued that:

Ether ETFs have lost roughly 7% of cost‑basis capital over the past five weeks, compared with about 4% for Bitcoin ETFs, indicating that investors are quicker to pull money from ETH products when volatility spikes. ^[19]

That differential has only widened as November’s crash intensified. Coupled with today’s deeper percentage losses in ETH versus BTC on many venues, it supports the idea that ETH is behaving like a higher‑beta, higher‑risk version of Bitcoin — attractive in risk‑on conditions, but punished more severely when sentiment turns. ^[20]

This matters for institutional allocators:

In a world where ETF flows increasingly drive marginal demand, being perceived as “the risky one” can mean larger outflows at the worst possible time, pushing prices further below fair value during corrections.

Inside Ethereum’s 35% whale-driven sell-off — why some see it as bullish

Three days ago, CryptoSlate published a widely discussed analysis titled “Why Ethereum’s current 35% whale sell-off may be its most bullish signal.” ^[21]

Their core argument:

Since October 6, Ethereum has undergone a double‑digit correction north of 35%, triggering widespread liquidations and a shakeout of leveraged traders.
Long‑term holders (3–10 year cohorts) have sharply increased their spending, realizing profits at levels not seen since early 2021.
At the same time, a new class of “digital asset treasury” companies — notably BitMine and SharpLink — has been methodically accumulating millions of ETH, mostly to stake and hold for the long term.

On‑chain data highlighted:

A heavily leveraged whale who had borrowed tens of thousands of ETH on Aave was forced to unwind a position, moving nearly 200,000 ETH to prevent liquidation and sending over 40,000 ETH to exchanges at an estimated loss above $70 million. ^[22]
An early ICO wallet, dormant for more than a decade, began to move part of its 1,000 ETH hoard, capturing a mind‑bending multi‑thousand‑fold return. ^[23]

To CryptoSlate, this looks less like a collapse and more like a redistribution of supply:

Older, highly profitable holders and leveraged speculators are selling into weakness.
Programmatic corporate treasuries and long‑horizon buyers are absorbing that supply, often with no intention of selling in the near term.

From a market‑structure perspective, that’s the classic recipe for the late stages of a capitulation phase: weak hands out, strong hands in. ^[24]

DeFi treasuries and corporate HODLers are now deeply underwater

The bullish redistribution story, however, comes with real pain.

DeFi DATs: unrealized losses pile up

A Bitget‑syndicated analysis on November 21 warns that Ethereum’s drop below $3,000 is inflicting serious damage on decentralized autonomous treasuries (DATs) — the pooled treasuries that fund grants, incentives, and protocol development across DeFi. ^[25]

Key points:

Many DATs built up ETH reserves at higher prices, assuming $3,000+ would act as a durable support.
Dipping under that level means deep unrealized losses, forcing some projects to reconsider spending plans and community distributions.
Chart patterns in the same piece outline a possible retest of the $2,500 level if selling continues. ^[26]

Indonesian exchange Pintu describes the same zone as a “liquidity reset” area — a level where past cycles have seen sharp selloffs followed by powerful reversals, but only after weak positions are flushed out. ^[27]

BitMine: $3.7B in paper losses

The largest corporate Ethereum holder, BitMine Immersion Technologies, now finds itself in a very public bind:

A report from The Crypto Basic, citing research by 10x Research, estimates BitMine holds about 3.56 million ETH, with an average cost basis near $4,051.
At current prices around $2,800–$2,700, that implies roughly $3.7 billion in unrealized losses. ^[28]

With BitMine’s modified net asset value (mNAV) trading below 1, the company’s ability to raise new capital by issuing shares is limited, underscoring how corporate ETH treasuries are highly exposed to sustained drawdowns. ^[29]

Crypto.news reports that BitMine even bought additional ETH on November 20, leaning into its long‑term thesis despite the mounting paper loss — a move that amplifies both the conviction and the risk. ^[30]

Technical picture: key levels at $2,700, $2,500 — and a possible bullish wedge

Short‑term traders are laser‑focused on a handful of critical levels.

Sub‑$3K consolidation and $2,700 support

In a fresh breakdown published via TradingView, NewsBTC notes that:

Ethereum failed to hold above $3,000, accelerated lower, and tested the $2,770 area.
Price is now consolidating below $3,000 and the 100‑hour moving average, with resistance clustering around $2,920–$3,050.
A decisive move below $2,740–$2,770 opens up downside targets toward $2,680 and potentially the $2,550–$2,500 zone. ^[31]

Crypto.news separately flags $2,700 as a key support, noting Ethereum has fallen to levels last seen in July and that further weakness could emerge if ETF outflows and liquidations persist. ^[32]

CryptoPotato’s daily analysis is blunt: ETH has lost the $3,000 support and now “sits just under $2,800”; if buyers don’t defend this area, the next meaningful support is around $2,400. ^[33]

A falling wedge that could break higher

Interestingly, not all technical commentary is bearish.

A new CoinCentral piece describes Ethereum trading inside a descending wedge pattern:

ETH recently hit a “liquidity reset” around $3,019, with about $150 million in long liquidations in 24 hours.
Price is compressing between a falling resistance line (around $3,200–$3,600) and a rising support floor near $2,900–$3,000.
The Money Flow Index sits mid‑range, suggesting ongoing inflows without signs of full exhaustion. ^[34]

Descending wedges are often resolved to the upside, especially when formed after a steep sell‑off. CoinCentral argues that a clean break above $3,206 and then $3,607 could open a path back toward $4,200–$4,800 over time — though that scenario assumes macro conditions stabilize and ETF outflows slow. ^[35]

Other forecasters, such as Forex24 and CryptoTicker, outline similar maps: a possible short‑term rebound toward $3,000–$3,100, followed by either a failed retest and slide toward the low‑$2,000s, or a more durable trend reversal if buyers regain control. ^[36]

Why this crash could still be laying the foundation for a new Ethereum uptrend

Putting all of this together, the November 21 sell‑off looks less like a simple “ETH is dead” story and more like a complex reshuffling of who owns Ethereum.

Three big ideas stand out:

Leverage is being flushed from the system.
Massive liquidations in futures markets and the forced unwinding of highly leveraged whales reduce the kind of hidden risk that can trigger catastrophic crashes later. ^[37]
Weak, price‑sensitive holders are handing coins to stronger hands.
Long‑term holders, over‑leveraged traders, and ETF investors are selling into fear, while treasury firms and strategic buyers are accumulating, even at the cost of painful short‑term losses. ^[38]
Macro and ETF flows, not Ethereum’s fundamentals, are driving the drawdown.
Most of the selling pressure is tied to rate expectations, equity volatility, and ETF redemptions, not to any critical failure in Ethereum’s technology or ecosystem — which continues to process billions in DeFi, stablecoin, and NFT activity daily. ^[39]

Historically, when prices fall sharply for macro and flow‑driven reasons rather than protocol‑specific ones, recoveries can be just as violent once risk appetite returns and sidelined capital re‑enters the market.

What traders and long-term investors should watch next

Without making any price predictions or investment recommendations, several data points are likely to drive ETH’s next big move:

ETF flows: Do BTC and ETH funds continue to see hundreds of millions in daily outflows, or do redemptions slow — or even reverse — as prices stabilize? ^[40]
Key price levels: How Ethereum behaves around $2,700, $2,500, and $2,400 on the downside — and $2,920, $3,050, and $3,200+ on the upside — will shape short‑term sentiment. ^[41]
On‑chain distribution: Whether long‑term holders continue to sell or start re‑accumulating will signal where we are in the capitulation vs. recovery cycle. ^[42]
DeFi & treasury health: The ability of DATs and corporate treasuries (like BitMine) to weather unrealized losses without forced selling will influence how much additional supply might hit the market. ^[43]
Macro backdrop: Fed rate‑cut expectations, equity volatility, and broader risk sentiment remain critical. As TradingView’s macro coverage notes, much of today’s pain stems from a global risk‑off wave, not from crypto alone. ^[44]

For now, Ethereum finds itself in what one analyst called a “$2,800 crucible” — a zone where stability could spark a sharp short‑covering rally, but further cracks in ETF flows or macro data could easily drag the market toward the low‑$2,000s first. ^[45]

Key takeaways

ETH is trading around $2,700–$2,800, down roughly 35%+ from early‑October highs and about 10–11% over the last day. ^[46]
Spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs have recorded record monthly outflows, with BTC products losing about $3.79B and ETH funds around $1.79B so far in November. ^[47]
Market participants increasingly treat ETH as riskier than BTC, with Ether ETFs seeing deeper capital losses and quicker outflows during the sell‑off. ^[48]
On‑chain data shows a 35%+ “whale sell‑off” where long‑term holders and leveraged traders are offloading ETH while treasuries and institutional buyers accumulate — a pattern some analysts interpret as bullish in the long run. ^[49]
Short‑term technicals are fragile: a loss of $2,700–$2,800 support could open the door to $2,500–$2,400, while a break back above $3,000–$3,200 could signal that the worst of the panic is over. ^[50]

Important: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Crypto assets are highly volatile and can result in total loss. Always do your own research and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before making investment decisions.