Ethereum Briefly Slips Under $4K as Long-Term Holders Tighten Supply

Ethereum’s price fell under the key $4,000 level early Thursday, marking its first dip below that threshold since early August. The token traded near $3,999 around 1:00 a.m. before rebounding to roughly $4,037—still about 3% lower over the past 24 hours.

The slide was driven by a mix of technical breakdowns, macroeconomic uncertainty, and a wave of liquidations that cleared more than $1.7 billion across altcoins, with Ethereum itself seeing over $200 million in forced selling. A failure to hold the $4,200 support zone added to the pressure.

September’s 25-basis-point U.S. interest-rate cut failed to spark a lasting rally, dampened by cautious central-bank commentary and slowing inflows to Ethereum-based exchange-traded funds. ETH ETFs have drawn only about $110 million so far this month, compared with August’s $3.8 billion surge.

Despite the pullback, on-chain data shows a different story. Over 420,000 ETH left centralized exchanges this week alone, driving total exchange balances to their lowest level in nearly nine years. This trend points to long-term holders moving coins to self-custody and staking, setting the stage for a potential supply squeeze that could fuel Ethereum’s next major rally.