Ethereum Fell 5% as Its ETF Comeback Lasted One Day. Is $2,000 Next?
Ethereum ETFs snapped a brutal losing streak with one promising day of inflows, then hemorrhaged five times that amount the very next session. With Ether sliding below key levels and its biggest corporate buyer nearly tapped out, a drop toward…
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U.S. Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) funds ended a streak of 10 sessions of outflows with a temporary inflow of about $24.8 million on October 13, 2026. However, this positive shift didn’t last long. The following day, on October 14, these spot exchange-traded funds—holding Ether directly and trading on stock markets—experienced outflows of around $129.5 million, according to data from SoSoValue. This Ethereum ETF outflow was more than five times greater than the previous inflow.
Ether is trading at approximately $2,365, down 5.8% in the last 24 hours and 6.8% over the past week. It reached a high of about $2,528 and a low of around $2,401 on October 14, but has since dipped below that low.
The next significant round number down is $2,000, which is about 15.4% below the current price. So, is Ethereum heading in that direction, or was the decline on October 14 just a fluke?
Ethereum Funds Had One Day of Inflows, Then Lost $130 Million
The fund flow records indicate a troubling trend. Money has been leaving for 10 consecutive sessions, then briefly returned for one day before exiting again, this time in even larger amounts. Just one inflow day in an 11-session period doesn’t signal a turnaround; typically, a real recovery requires several consecutive positive days, which hasn’t happened yet.
Net assets—the total dollar value of everything the funds hold—fell to about $15.2 billion after October 14, dropping from about $15.8 billion. However, this decrease reflects not only fund outflows but also the declining price of Ether. Of the roughly $625 million drop, only about $130 million came from actual outflows, suggesting most of the decline was due to falling prices rather than investors cashing out.
In a related development, VanEck withdrew its proposal for a staked-Ether fund, which would hold Ether and earn staking rewards. This move reflects more on the demand for new Ethereum products than on the coin itself.
Ether Fell the Most of the Four Major Coins Over 24 Hours
Among the major cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana, Ether saw the steepest decline at 5.8% over 24 hours, compared to a 3.2% drop for Bitcoin. Currently, Ether trades about 52.2% below its all-time high of around $4,946.
Corporate treasury companies, public firms that buy crypto to hold, have been the most consistent buyers of Ethereum in 2026. However, the largest of these firms, BitMine, has indicated it will stop buying once it reaches 5% of Ether’s total supply, which it is close to hitting. This shows a clear limit to the biggest source of corporate demand.
Traders often borrow funds to increase their Ether positions. When prices drop, exchanges liquidate these positions by selling assets, which exacerbates the price decline. Conversely, when prices rebound, those holding short positions must buy back Ether, creating upward pressure.
Long-Term Fund Investments Have Mostly Remained in Ethereum
Overall, the funds have received about $13.1 billion more than they have paid out since their inception, indicating a net positive inflow. Even the $129.5 million outflow on October 14 amounts to less than 1% of the funds’ current net assets of $15.2 billion.
Currently, there is no clear support level between $2,365 and $2,000. This means we can only discuss $2,000 as a potentially significant level below the current price.
Is $2,000 Next for Ethereum?
While it’s unlikely that Ethereum will drop to $2,000 before the end of 2026, the possibility remains if selling pressure builds from multiple sources. A combination of forced selling among leveraged traders, more Ethereum ETF outflows like those seen on October 14, and a lack of new buyers as BitMine approaches its limit could all contribute to a drop.
The next few sessions will provide more clarity. If the funds see several consecutive days of inflows while Ether closes above about $2,496 (its October 13 close), the risk of falling to $2,000 could diminish. However, if another streak of outflows pushes Ether to close below $2,365, the chances of testing $2,000 may increase before the year ends.
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Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst who's spent nearly a decade making blockchain understandable—no easy task when most whitepapers read like fever dreams. He writes for 24/7 Wall St., covering Bitcoin, altcoins, and crypto market analysis for investors. Before crypto, he was a tech writer (back when explaining "the cloud" was peak innovation). Since 2018, he's written for CoinTelegraph, Yahoo Finance, The Block, Cryptonews, Zypto, Rain, and more—basically anywhere people want crypto news without the headache. Sam runs MacLabs Marketing, a content agency for crypto brands tired of sounding like AI wrote their website. He also publishes free crypto education on his site for Web3 enthusiasts who think "gas fees" is a typo. When he's not writing or staring at charts, Sam's either: - Watching anime (currently convinced One Piece has better tokenomics than most altcoins) - At the gym sculpting himself into a Greek god - Listening to the music your mum warned you only bad boys listen to Connect: LinkedIn | Email | MacLabs Marketing
