TLDR
- ETH fell about 5% in 24 hours to roughly $2,370, with $93 million in liquidations.
- Exchange reserves dropped by 170K ETH to 14.882M ETH over 48 hours.
- Whale wallets are buying ETH, including one that swapped 246.25 BTC for 8,286 ETH.
- ETH is trading below its 20-day and 50-day moving averages, with $2,355 as near-term support.
- Analysts Ted and Aralez see different paths: a possible 7%-10% drop or a move toward $3,000.
Ethereum (ETH) dropped below $2,400 on Thursday as renewed US-Iran tensions and concerns about AI-related spending hit the crypto market. The second-largest cryptocurrency fell about 5% in 24 hours and traded near $2,370. That erased gains from the previous two days.
According to Coinglass, the drop triggered $93 million in ETH liquidations. Long positions made up about $85.3 million of that total. Across the wider crypto market, liquidations reached roughly $454 million.
The sell-off followed President Donald Trump ruling out negotiations with Tehran on Wednesday. More Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia added to concerns about supply chain disruptions. Brent crude rose 3.8% to $113 per barrel.
Stocks also declined. The Nasdaq fell 2.8%, and the 10-year Treasury yield slipped below 5%, its lowest level in nearly a month.
CoinGecko data showed ETH’s market cap at about $290.27 billion, with 24-hour trading volume near $11.89 billion. ETH had climbed to around $2,517 before pulling back. It is down about 37.5% over the past year and 51.4% below its all-time high.
On-Chain Data Points to Dip Buying
Even as the price fell, on-chain data showed some accumulation. CryptoQuant data shows Ethereum exchange reserves dropped by 170K ETH to 14.882M ETH over 48 hours. That may mean coins are moving to self-custody, which reduces the supply available to sell.
Lookonchain also flagged several large wallets buying ETH over the past 24 hours. One wallet sold 246.25 BTC, worth $20.64 million, to buy 8,286 ETH on Thursday.
Over the past 11 days, that same wallet has sold 1,917.7 BTC and bought 64,545 ETH, according to Lookonchain.
Analyst Ted said on X that ETH tapped the $2,530-$2,550 resistance zone and got rejected. He noted the price is back near $2,400 and has almost erased its weekly gains. He warned that a weekly close below $2,400 could send ETH down another 7%-10%.
$ETH tapped the $2,530-$2,550 resistance zone and got rejected.
It's now back at the $2,400 level and has almost erased all its weekly gains.
If a weekly close happens below $2,400 for Ethereum, it could drop another 7%-10%. pic.twitter.com/x7O08J9tU6
— Ted (@TedPillows) October 22, 2026
Chart Analysis
Looks like ETH got slapped right at the 20- and 50-day EMA convergence, and bears have been selling into those levels all week. The 14-day RSI sits at 39 and the Stochastic at 26, so momentum is leaning bearish with oversold readings getting closer. Price is now sitting on the 100-day EMA and the $2,355 level, which has held for eight days.
If $2,355 breaks, the next stops are $2,204 and then $2,026. Bulls need a daily close back above the short-term EMAs. The level to watch next is the $2,355 support, with $2,313 as the line that could open more downside.
Crypto analyst Aralez posted on X that ETH may be forming a large cup pattern from lows near $1,450. The analyst said ETH peaked near $2,800 before retesting a rising trendline near $2,400.
$ETH is setting up for a big move 👀
Massive cup formed off the ~1,450 lows, local peak at ~2,800 and now price is retesting the rising trendline near 2,400 – textbook
A final liquidity hunt toward 2,200 is possible, but structure stays intact as long as BTC holds its range… https://t.co/xgulT43ytr pic.twitter.com/Xq21qVfEBB
— Aralez 🐕 (@0xAralez) October 22, 2026
Aralez said a final liquidity hunt toward $2,200 is still possible. The structure would stay intact as long as Bitcoin holds its range. The analyst outlined a path toward $3,000 to $3,200, then sideways trading, then a possible move to $3,450.
The 20-day and 50-day moving averages stood at $2,484 and $2,476 on October 22. A recovery above $2,520 would put ETH back above its 20-day average. The $1,860 level, last reached on July 24, is a lower reference point.
