Ethereum falls below 3100 dollars…"Long-term holders' confidence weakens"

Ethereum (ETH) continued its weakness, slipping below 3100 dollars amid a weekend-wide correction in crypto assets (cryptocurrencies).

On the 17th (local time), according to CoinDesk, Ethereum first broke below the 3100-dollar level on Bitstamp at 4 PM on the 16th (UTC, 1 AM on the 17th Korean time), and as of 9:36 PM (6:36 AM on the 17th Korean time) it was trading around 3066 dollars. This represents a 3.4% decline over 24 hours. This is the first time it has fallen below 3100 dollars since November 4.

Negative signals also appeared in institutional investor flows. Timothy Peterson, an investment manager and digital asset researcher at Cane Island Alternative Advisors, said, "The Ethereum spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) recorded net outflows in four of the past five weeks," adding, "this represents about 7% of the 'capital at cost (cost-basis capital)' invested in the product being withdrawn."

Around 4% flowed out of the Bitcoin (BTC) spot ETF during the same period; Peterson analyzed this as "a signal that market participants currently perceive Ethereum as a riskier asset."

Capital at cost refers to the total amount of investment originally put into the ETF, excluding subsequent valuation gains and losses. It is seen as an indicator showing the real 'base capital' of long-term participants and can reflect changes in market beliefs more accurately than simple sums of inflows and outflows. An increase in the redemption ratio relative to capital at cost is often interpreted as a weakening of confidence among existing long-term holders rather than a short-term position adjustment.

Peterson pointed out that the share of capital at cost that has flowed out of the Ethereum spot ETF recently is higher than for Bitcoin, stating, "Liquidations of long-term participants are proceeding relatively deeper in the Ethereum market."