Ethereum Price News: $350M Liquidated in 4 Hours as ETH Drops Below $3K

Ethereum (ETH) experienced a strong drop to start the week, as the top altcoin retreated by 4.6% in the past 24 hours and fell below the key $3,000 threshold.

Crypto long liquidations have reached $500 million during this period already, the majority of which occurred in the past 4 hours alone.

Nearly $100 million worth of ETH positions were blown up as a result of this sharp drop, as volatility in the crypto market persists as the end of the year approaches.

This is a data-heavy week, and volatility will likely spike. On Tuesday, non-farm payrolls covering October 2025 will hit, followed by inflation data from November on Friday.

The market will have to quickly digest this delayed data from October as a result of the U.S. government shutdown, and that could have an impact on analysts’ forecasts pertaining to the Federal Reserve’s dot-plot for 2026.

New York Session Frantically Sold Off ETH

During the Asian session, the price reached a high of $3,150. However, once London opened, the selling pressure increased as ETH got close to $3,200.

ETH/USD Hourly Chart (Coinbase) – Source: TradingView

Finally, New Yorkers distributed and flushed out excess longs rapidly with a 5-hour selling spree that has already pushed ETH down from $3,200 to $2,950 at the time of writing.

Is this sell-off setting the stage for the rest of the week, or is ETH preparing to grab additional sell-side liquidity before its next leg up?

The $3,000 psychological threshold has not been able to backstop the decline thus far, as selling pressure seems to be quite strong.

Trading volumes in the past 24 hours have jumped by 119% to $26.5 billion, currently accounting for over 7% of the asset’s circulating market cap. This confirms that bears are currently in control of the price action.

Hence, unless we get a confirmed bounce that paves the way for a bear trap under $3K, the baseline short-term outlook for ETH for the week remains bearish.

Ethereum Could Hit $2,600 In a Few Days After Confirmed Rejection

The daily chart shows that ETH has dropped in 4 out of the past 6 sessions after hitting the $3,300 area. This price zone was highly relevant from a technical standpoint, as a move above it would have invalidated the token’s downtrend.

ETH/USD Daily Chart (Coinbase) – Source: TradingView

Now, it seems that ETH could be ready to resume its downward moves, possibly eyeing the $2,800 level for now. The trend line support shown in the chart is bull’s last line of defense to keep the latest uptrend going.

Otherwise, a continuation of the downtrend that started in early October would be confirmed, and we could see ETH diving to $2,600 in a few days.

Meanwhile, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) also sent a sell signal as it dropped below the 14-day moving average and below the mid-line as well.

On the other hand, the bullish scenario right now would involve a bounce off the trend line support that pushes ETH back to $3,300 in the near term.

If a breakout occurs above this mark, then we could get a much stronger rally toward $3,600 and beyond, as this would confirm a trend reversal and the beginning of the token’s next leg up.