Ethereum plunged roughly 20% in just 24 hours, dipping below $1,500 for the first time since March 2023. At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading at approximately $1,476, down from a daily peak of $1,799.
This sharp decline in ETH’s price reflects wider turbulence across cryptocurrency markets, spurred significantly by fresh macroeconomic uncertainty. The recent turmoil unfolded as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s introduction of extensive new tariffs placed significant downward pressure on cryptocurrencies.
Data available from market trackers shows that leveraged Ethereum positions suffered severely, with liquidations surpassing $400 million in a single day. Long positions were hit hardest, accounting for approximately $341 million of the losses. As traders hastily exited their bets, open interest in Ethereum futures also slumped by roughly 15%.
The rapid decline proved costly for at least one large holder in particular: a major investor, whose substantial ETH-collateralized loan on decentralized finance platform Sky (formerly known as Maker) was liquidated after position thresholds were breached. Blockchain data analytics revealed this whale lost around 67,570 ETH, equating to more than $100 million, as the system automatically sold the pledged Ethereum collateral to cover outstanding debts during the price rout.
Ethereum has been enduring a difficult period recently—closing the first quarter of 2025 with a 45% loss and a valuation drop totaling roughly $170 billion. Analysts noted that Q1 2025 became Ethereum’s third-worst quarter since tracking began in 2016, despite Ethereum-based decentralized exchanges maintaining their lead in market volumes. DeFiLlama data further indicates network fee revenues declining steeply from $142 million in January to merely $21 million in March, reflecting decreased network usage and transaction volume.
Although Ethereum improved user experience last year with its March 2024 EIP-1559 “Dencun” upgrade, which reduced transaction fees significantly, the benefits of deflationary economic conditions have seemingly reversed for ETH. Ethereum’s token supply has returned to inflationary territory, as indicated by falling ETH burn rates that are now at their lowest levels since August 2021.
In response to the price correction and deteriorating fundamentals, analysts have tempered expectations. Standard Chartered analysts notably lowered their year-end Ethereum price projection from $10,000 to $4,000 recently, citing increasing competition from Ethereum’s own layer-2 scaling solutions. Layer-2 networks continue growing at Ethereum’s expense, attracting users with quicker transaction speeds and lower fees.
Meanwhile, upcoming strategic network enhancements, such as the widely anticipated “Pectra” upgrade, may bolster Ethereum’s long-term technical strength. However, immediate price pressures from global economic uncertainty are likely to persist, prompting caution among investors and analysts alike.
