Ethereum dropped 2.4% on August 13, sliding from an intraday high of $1,918 to a low of $1,872 after traders sold into the U.S. CPI release. July CPI came in at 0.1% month over month and 3.4% year over year, while core inflation rose 0.2% monthly and 2.5% annually; all four readings matched expectations and gave markets no fresh catalyst. ETH slipped through the $1,887 level, where thin liquidity accelerated the move toward $1,872.
On-chain data signaled caution. Exchange reserves edged up to 15.13 million ETH, and the Coinbase Premium Index fell to -0.081. The 14-day moving average of ETH exchange netflow flipped positive, indicating mild selling dominance. Daily Chaikin Money Flow stood at -0.04, while the 4-hour RSI was 45.15, below the neutral 50 level. Key support sits near $1,875, with resistance clustered between $1,920 and $1,955.
Market participants showed a stark divergence. Retail wallets holding between 100 and 10,000 ETH offloaded roughly 160,000 ETH over the past week, while whale wallets holding 10,000 to 100,000 ETH accumulated about 100,000 ETH. U.S. spot ETH ETFs recorded $244.9 million in net inflows last week but have seen modest outflows of $8.9 million this week. Analysts noted a potential bullish divergence, with long-term holder selling pressure decreasing, although ETH/BTC strength may require a break above 0.03 BTC to confirm.
The price action is unfolding alongside a structural shift in Ethereum’s monetary policy. EIP-1559, launched in August 2021, introduced a base fee burn that has permanently destroyed roughly 4.6 million ETH to date. The September 2022 Merge cut new issuance by about 90%, from roughly 13,000 ETH per day to around 1,700 ETH daily. However, the March 2024 Dencun upgrade introduced EIP-4844 blob transactions and shifted Layer 2 activity off the mainnet, causing daily burns to collapse from thousands of ETH to roughly 50 to 70 ETH per day in Q1 2025.
As of mid-2026, total supply stood at approximately 120.7 million to 121.5 million ETH, slightly above the 120.52 million ETH at the Merge. Staking has grown to around 39.6 million ETH, or roughly 34% of supply, while staker issuance remains near 2,800 ETH per day. Net annual inflation now runs between about 0.2% and 0.8% depending on the measurement window, meaning Ethereum is mildly inflationary rather than permanently deflationary. The December 2025 Fusaka upgrade attempted to restore a minimum burn floor via EIP-7918; Fidelity modeled that the mechanism would have added roughly $78.6 million in burns across 93% of days since 2024. For deflation to return, daily burns need to consistently exceed roughly 2,800 ETH.
