Key Facts

• Ether began 2026 on a relatively constructive footing, with optimism surrounding Ethereum's technological roadmap and expectations of increasing institutional adoption initially supporting prices, but the successful implementation of the Pectra upgrade in late January failed to stem the flow of sellers.
• The Pectra upgrade, which improved validator efficiency, wallet functionality, and network scalability, helped Ether stabilize between April and early May in the $2,200-to-$2,400 region as improving risk appetite and steady ETF inflows supported the broader cryptocurrency market.
• US spot Ethereum ETFs experienced a dramatic reversal between the second half of May and early June, with ETF investors withdrawing well over $3 billion from spot Ethereum funds, making it one of the weakest periods since the products launched.
• The pace of selling moderated during the second half of June, with several trading sessions recording modest net inflows, largely driven by renewed buying into BlackRock's ETHA, while weekly outflows slowed substantially compared with the heavy liquidation seen earlier in the quarter.
• Ether's price fell below $1,600 after briefly touching its lowest level since April 2025 at $1,505.59, leaving it down by over 50% from its late-2025 highs, with the cryptocurrency now facing key technical resistance levels that will determine its near-term direction.