Ethereum (ETH) has suffered a brutal price collapse, plunging nearly 20% in 24 hours to reach $1,450, its lowest level since late 2023.
The sharp decline has left the price at $1,497, further shaking the crypto market, mirroring the worst global stock market sell-off since the 2008 financial crisis.
Mounting trade tensions and new U.S. tariffs have triggered widespread panic, leading investors to abandon risk assets.
As Peter Chung, Head of Research at Presto, noted, a “Sell Now, Think Later” mentality has taken over, prompting traders to liquidate even fundamentally strong tokens like Ethereum.
The effects of this panic have spread quickly across both traditional and digital markets, as traders flee volatile positions.
Global Markets in Free Fall as Crypto Suffers Massive Pullback
The Ethereum crash comes in tandem with severe losses across Asian equity markets. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 8% before circuit breakers halted trading, while South Korea’s Kospi and China’s Shanghai Composite fell 4.6% and 5.8%, respectively.
Taiwan saw over 1,000 stocks hit limit-down levels, underscoring the scale of the sell-off. With Ethereum now trading at $1,479.80 and a 24-hour trading volume exceeding $41 billion, the token has declined 17.55% in just one day and 17.26% over the past week.
The selloff is being viewed not just as a reaction to geopolitical uncertainty but also as a shift in overall risk appetite, pushing even heavyweight cryptocurrencies into freefall.
Ethereum’s current market cap stands at $179.3 billion, reflecting the widespread capital exit from digital assets.
Also Read: Ethereum Investor Offloads $2.93M After 2-Months Of Dormancy While Facing $5.34M Unrealized Loss
Liquidation Storm Hits DeFi Platforms as ETH Collateral Crumbles
The Ethereum crash has triggered a chain reaction across decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, with forced liquidations accelerating market losses.
On the Sky lending platform, one whale position holding 67,570 ETH, valued at approximately $106 million, was liquidated after its collateral ratio dipped below the required 150%, falling to 144% as per Maker Vault data.
Sky’s automated liquidation system forcibly sold the assets to cover the loan, deepening the price plunge.
A second whale, holding 56,995 wrapped ETH worth $91 million, is also on the brink of liquidation.
According to CoinGlass, the total liquidations across the crypto market in the past 24 hours have surpassed $1 billion, with ETH-based positions taking the biggest hit.
These events expose the fragility of highly-leveraged positions during extreme volatility and raise concerns about further cascading effects.
Ethereum Enters Bearish Zone as Market Braces for More Pain
Technically, Ethereum has broken below critical support levels of $1,550 and $1,620, confirming a shift into a bearish zone.
The token is now struggling to recover, facing stiff resistance near $1,500 and $1,575. Analysts warn that if no strong buying interest returns soon, ETH could slide further toward the $1,420 level.
The token now sits 68% below its 2021 all-time high, reflecting long-term weakness in investor sentiment.
The broader GMCI 30 index, which tracks the top 30 crypto assets, fell 8.6%, while Bitcoin dropped 10% to around $74,700.
Ethereum’s decline is seen as part of a broader financial panic marked by policy uncertainty, geopolitical instability, and loss of confidence across all risk markets.
With volatility surging to multi-month highs, the coming days will be pivotal in determining whether this marks a short-term correction or the start of a deeper downturn in crypto markets.
Also Read: ETH/BTC Ratio Hits Five-Year Low at 0.02193; Faces Largest Underperformance Post-Bitcoin Halving