Key Points
- A crypto trader lost $58 million as the ETH/BTC pair hit a multi-year low.
- Analysts predict further decline in Ethereum’s market dominance.
The ETH/BTC pair has reached a multi-year low, leading to significant losses for crypto traders. The price of Ethereum continues to hover around the $2,500 mark, lacking sufficient momentum for an upward swing.
Trader’s Significant Loss
Data from Spot on Chain reveals that trader James Fickel has incurred a loss of over 23,000 ETH, equivalent to $58 million, on his ETH/BTC long position. This is due to the pair hitting its lowest levels since April 2021. Over the past two days, the ETH/BTC trading pair fell to 0.037, leading Fickel to adjust his position by converting an additional 4,418 ETH (approximately $11.13 million) into 166 WBTC. This is the second major reduction of his trading position in just 37 days.
Fickel currently has an outstanding debt of 1,116.6 WBTC (around $75.5 million) on Aave and has recently initiated a request to withdraw 4,731 ETH from Lido, suggesting further swaps may be imminent.
ETH Price Correction May Not Be Over
Crypto market analysts, including Benjamin Cowen, believe that the ETH price correction might not be completely finished. Drawing parallels from Ethereum’s price movements in 2016, Cowen suggests that there is a decent chance of another drop by the end of the year, potentially reaching a low in December.
Furthermore, Cowen notes that Ethereum’s market dominance has seen a substantial decline over the past year, dropping from 18.85% to 13.36%. While some may argue that Ethereum is dead, Cowen believes this decline was expected. He predicts the next major support level for Ethereum dominance could be around 9-10% and anticipates a potential rebound in 2025, though he warns of further decline in 2024.
In contrast to Bitcoin ETFs, Ethereum ETFs have struggled to attract sufficient institutional interest since their launch in July, with daily inflows almost negligible.
Ethereum ICO whales have been periodically offloading their holdings, negatively impacting market sentiment. Recently, an Ethereum ICO participant deposited nearly $8 million worth of ETH into the crypto exchange Kraken after a four-month hiatus.
