ETH has dropped 16% today, now trading at near $1,500, a level last seen in January 2018, sparking debate around its “ultrasound money” status.
Amid the broader crypto market sell-off, Ethereum ETH $3 782 24h volatility: 5.3% Market cap: $455.24 B Vol. 24h: $59.49 B price has tanked 16% today, extending its 2025 losses to 54% so far. As ETH falls back to $1,500, the levels last seen eight years back in 2018, analysts have started to question its status as “ultrasound money”.
Ethereum (ETH) Price Drop to $1,500 Drains Investors
Ethereum has emerged as one of the worst-performing digital assets of 2025 so far, eroding over $220 billion of investors’ wealth in just the first three months. On-chain analyst Willy Woo has weighed in on Ethereum’s long-term performance, noting that its reputation as “ultrasound money”, is eroding quickly.
According to Woo, Ethereum (ETH) traded at $1,569 earlier today, only slightly higher than its price of $1,448 in January 2018. This equates to a compounded internal rate of return (IRR) of just 1.2% over the past seven years.
While there have been several updates over the past eight years, like a transition to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) model, and others, it hasn’t yet translated into ETH price recovery. As a result, the “Ethereum is dead” narrative is catching up quickly in the market.
Falling #Ethereum Could Be the Canary In the Coal Mine – Ether may be on the way to revisiting its next round-number support level at $1,000, with implications for risk assets. Full report on Bloomberg here: https://t.co/vsuw0mMLAA {BI COMD}#commodities #gold #bitcoin… pic.twitter.com/61fhprgKPn
— Mike McGlone (@mikemcglone11) April 6, 2025
During the last week between March 31 and April 4, Ethereum spot ETFs recorded a total net outflow of $49.93 million, reflecting continued investor caution amid market uncertainty.
Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHE) led the exodus, posting the largest single outflow of the week at $31.08 million. The movement signals a pullback in institutional interest as ETH struggles to regain upward momentum
Will Pectra Upgrade Lead to ETH Recovery Anytime Soon?
Ethereum Pectra upgrade, which is likely to boost network efficiency and scalability, has faced multiple delays and is likely to arrive by the month’s end. Investors have been pinning hope on this development for ETH recovery ahead.
Although the Ethereum liquidations have soared to $367 million in the last 24 hours, investors are pinning hope for the altcoin to recover. Despite the broader crypto market crash, Ethereum whales have been actively buying the dip, according to on-chain data from Spot On Chain.
Whales are buying $ETH during the dip in the past 12 hours as the market crashed!
1️⃣ The mystery group “7 Siblings” spent $42.66M to buy 25,100 $ETH at ~$1,700, then supplied all tokens to #Aave.
2️⃣ Whale “0x709” borrowed 8.25M $DAI from #Spark to buy 5,227.3 $ETH at ~$1,578.… pic.twitter.com/hQZBpfPT7F
— Spot On Chain (@spotonchain) April 7, 2025