Ethereum faces resistance near $2,900 after heavy liquidations

Price levels and support zones

Ethereum trades near $2,635 after buyers defended the $2,500 support area following a drop to $2,398 on September 17. This recovery shifts focus toward targets of $2,700 and $2,800, although the $3,000 level remains a conditional objective. If the price stays above the $2,530 to $2,550 zone, the breakout structure remains intact. Traders like EliZ warn that a 12-hour close below $2,500 would produce a deeper decline. Trader Tardigo argues that Ethereum formed a local top after its rebound from $1,510, which places a Fibonacci retracement target near $2,089. Coinbase data showed the 24-hour trading volume reached $10.05 billion while the price fluctuated between $2,564 and $2,660. The 52-week range for the asset spans from $1,505.43 to $4,955.56. Ethereum is down roughly 61.9% from its August 2025 high of $4,955.1. ETH futures open interest remains near $34.3 billion, with futures trading volume reaching approximately $68.1 billion. The Layer 2 ecosystem currently holds more than $40 billion in total value locked across 73 active rollups, including Arbitrum at $15.9 billion and Base at $12.1 billion. The price moved above $2,550, but it faced volatility around the $2,400 and $2,600 levels.

Derivatives pressure and massive liquidations

The Friday market rout wiped out $2 billion in positions and drove Ethereum below $2,800. More than 185,000 Ether contracts worth approximately $525 million expired during that session. The sudden shift in market sentiment drove the Ether put-call ratio to 1.01 from 0.72, which indicates that traders increased their hedging against potential price declines during the intense volatility of the Friday session. Max pain for Ether sat near $3,200, which sits well above the $2,800 spot price recorded during the selling pressure. The long-term put-call ratio sat at 0.52, but heavy recent put buying pushed the 24-hour ratio up to 1.36. Large holders faced heavy losses, as on-chain monitors reported individual Ethereum liquidations between $3 million and $6.5 million. Machi, a high-profile account, saw total paper losses exceed $20 million after the market move. In the same period, global markets saw 390,000 accounts wiped out, with $133.9 million in ETH futures positions liquidated. Bitcoin bore the brunt of the rout, with $962 million in BTC positions erased, nearly $931 million of which involved long bets. The Friday session saw 39,000 Bitcoin options expire, valued near $3.4 billion. Can the market absorb the $4.2 billion in expiring crypto options without triggering further forced position closures?

VanEck and the risks of leveraged futures

VanEck’s Ethereum Strategy ETF (EFUT) on the CBOE uses futures contracts to provide exposure instead of holding actual ETH. This product faces "negative roll yields" in "contango" markets, where futures prices exceed spot prices. In a contango market, the value of a futures contract tends to decline over time because the higher price must fall to match the lower spot price by expiration. This rolling process creates a potential for significant and sustained losses that remain independent of the performance of spot prices. You should understand that the value of Ethereum or these futures holdings could decline rapidly, including to zero. The Fund does not invest in ETH or other digital assets directly. Regulatory changes may also alter the nature of an investment in ETH or restrict the operations of the ETH network or the venues on which ETH trades. Margin requirements for ETH Futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange may be substantially higher than margin requirements for many other types of futures contracts. Ethereum operates without a central authority and is not backed by any government. Federal, state, or foreign governments may restrict the use and exchange of ETH, as regulation in the United States is still developing.