Ethereum price today: $1,980

• Ethereum slides below $2,000 amid escalating Middle East crisis.
• Institutional demand for ETH has plunged following seven consecutive days of net outflows from Ethereum ETFs.
• ETH eyes the $1,911 support level as sellers regain control.

Ethereum is facing pressure alongside the wider crypto market, dropping by 4% over the past 24 hours. The move has extended its weekly decline to 6% and pushed monthly returns to negative territory following further escalation of the month-long US-Israel war with Iran on Friday.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps has issued a warning for employees of industrial companies and steel plants in Israel and Gulf states to exit their workplaces as it prepares a retaliatory strike, according to The New York Times. The response comes after the US and Israel launched attacks on several industries in Iran on Friday.

On the institutional side, demand for the top altcoin has remained weak as US spot ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have recorded seven consecutive days of net outflows totaling about $392 million.

Generally, interest from US retail investors in ETH has also cooled, with the Coinbase Premium Index dropping further into negative territory. The index measures average sentiment among US traders by comparing ETH's price on Coinbase with that on Binance.

Ethereum treasury firm BitMine Immersion (BMNR) appears to be the only outlier. Wallets likely linked to the company have bought 117,111 ETH over the past three days, according to smart money tracker Lookonchain — although the firm has yet to confirm the purchase.

BitMine had earlier revealed that it had purchased 65,341 ETH, bringing its stash to 4.66 million ETH at the time. The Las Vegas-based firm also announced the launch of its Made in America Validator Network (MAVAN) on Wednesday, offering institutional grade staking services to clients.

Meanwhile, Ethereum whales have continued to increase their holdings while retail wallets have slowed distribution, according to CryptoQuant data.

ETH derivatives exposure is also growing steadily, reaching 14.72 million ETH, even as funding rates lean negative with a spike on Friday.

Ethereum Price Forecast: ETH could bounce off short-term support at $1,911

Ethereum saw $121 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, driven by $102.5 million in liquidated long positions, per Coinglass data.

In the daily chart, ETH trades at $1,981. The near-term bias has turned mildly bearish as price slips below the 20-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA), while the 50-day and 100-day EMAs, clustered well above $2,180 and $2,430, underline a broader corrective phase.

Momentum has weakened, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) retreating toward the low-40s and Stochastic Oscillator (Stoch) deeply oversold, signaling sustained downside pressure but also the potential for short-covering bounces. The recent failure to sustain gains above the $2,100 area, reinforced by fading volumes after the prior spike, highlights sellers' control in the current leg.

Immediate resistance stands at $2,108, followed by a stronger cap at $2,389, where higher EMAs converge overhead, reinforcing supply. A daily close above $2,108 would ease immediate pressure and open the door for a recovery toward $2,389. On the downside, initial support is located at $1,911, followed by $1,741, which is ahead of the secondary floors at $1,524 and $1,405.

A break under $1,741 would confirm a continuation of the prevailing downtrend and expose the lower supports, while holding above it would keep the decline as a broader consolidation within the longer-term structure.

(The technical analysis of this story was written with the help of an AI tool.)