Ethereum is getting absolutely destroyed at the moment, with whales jumping ship.

They’ve dumped over 440,000 ETH in a single week, which is enough ETH to make even Vitalik raise an eyebrow.

With all of this happening in the midst of ETH Denver, the world’s largest Etheruem event, what could be causing these whales to swim for the exit?

The Damage Report

The second-largest crypto is now down 14% this week and a brutal 26% this month.

ETH just crashed below $2,300, a price we haven't seen since last year and a price that many supporters thought we wouldn’t see again for quite some time. Oh, how the tables have turned. 

One whale alone dropped 10,000 ETH worth $23.44 million onto Binance – and we all know nobody sends that much to an exchange just to hang out.

These aren't just normal market movements, either – this is action more akin to distribution phase behavior.

The ETF Blues

It may have something to do with those Ethereum ETFs that were supposed to send us to the moon but ultimately did little to support the price.

These ETFs are also bleeding money fast—BlackRock's ETHA fund just saw $68.4 million head for the exits, leading to total ETF outflows of $94.3 million.

Wall Street suits aren't as bullish on ETH as crypto Twitter thought, and the institutional adoption narrative is looking a bit shaky in the short term.

Could there be even more pain ahead?

BlackRock just transferred 5,100 Bitcoin worth $441.88 million and 30,280 ETH worth $71.85 million to Coinbase Prime.

Nobody moves half a billion in crypto without a plan, so this is likely to either cover outflows, or swap to something else.

Sure, they could just be shuffling assets around for operational reasons, but the world's largest asset manager could well be preparing for something bigger.

Either way, when BlackRock makes moves this size, the market watches with bated breath.

The Technical Bloodbath

From a technical perspective, it’s hard to mince words: the charts look absolutely terrible.

The BTC/Ethereum MVRV Momentum Oscillator is flashing bright red, basically screaming "down only" for the foreseeable future.

We've seen this before in May 2022 and September 2023, and neither had a happy ending for ETH holders.

Support levels are breaking fast, and there's not much standing between current prices and the abyss below.

This is either a good time to buy or a better time to cry. 

Zooming Out For Ethereum 

This is more about the sentiment surrounding Ethereum than it is about ETH's price.

While Bitcoin has been holding up relatively well, Ethereum suddenly looks like the weak leg on the crypto table – shaky and uncertain. 

The Layer 1 wars are heating up again, and ETH is no longer the undisputed king of smart contract platforms it once was – Solana has eaten its lunch with startling pace. 

With Ethereum outperforming nearly every major competitor, investors ask hard questions about its future dominance.

A Relic Of A Bygone Era?

Ethereum veterans have seen worse – much worse.

But newer investors who only bought in during the post-ETF hype are getting their first taste of crypto pain, and it's not going down smoothly.

The next few weeks will be crucial – either this is just another shakeout before the next leg up, or we're in for an extended bear market that would make even the strongest diamond hands sweat.