Ethereum slid to a two-month low of $2,315 on Bitstamp on Thursday, down roughly $200 for the day, as a broad crypto selloff collided with heavy leverage and mounting short exposure. The drop marked ETH's weakest price since its mid-August breakout rally, according to CryptoPotato.
Broader macro pressures contributed to the risk-off tone. Asian equities tumbled, with South Korea’s KOSPI falling 8% and Japan’s Nikkei down 6%, while a hotter-than-expected US CPI reading and reports that the US may be developing a larger non-nuclear weapon targeting Iran added further uncertainty.
Ethereum-specific pressure came from several directions. Open interest jumped after the CPI report, with traders described by Daan Crypto Traders as piling into short positions and "sitting comfy and steady," leaving little room for a short squeeze. Market maker Wintermute held $75.45 million in shorts on Hyperliquid, representing 86.4% of its $87.34 million in open positions. Its largest ETH short was $18.33 million, alongside $12.07 million in SOL shorts and $10.72 million in SP500 shorts.
ETF flows also turned negative. Ethereum ETFs had taken in nearly $25 million on Tuesday but saw almost $130 million in net outflows on Wednesday.
The deleveraging was violent. CoinGlass data showed $293 million in leveraged positions were wiped out over 24 hours, with 92% being longs; Bitcoin liquidations were the second-largest at $203 million. On Binance, Ethereum long liquidations exceeded $106 million within about one hour during the early hours of October 15, and the exchange recorded $131.32 million in ETH long liquidations over 24 hours versus just $5.56 million in shorts, according to BitcoinLeverage data.
The sharpest cascade occurred around 02:25 UTC, when approximately $137 million in Ethereum long liquidations hit nine exchanges within five minutes, including about $66 million on Binance. A single $11.84 million ETH long position was liquidated on Binance near $2,339. The episode follows another major liquidation event on October 7, when roughly $608 million in forced closures occurred across multiple assets.
Before the decline, Binance’s ETH/USDT contract carried about $5.49 billion in open interest, with 77.34% of tracked accounts long and a long-to-short account ratio near 3.41. Bybit showed a similar imbalance at 72.19% long. Combined Ethereum liquidations across Binance and Bybit topped $167 million, underscoring how concentrated bullish positioning amplified the selloff. Whether ETH has found a bottom remains uncertain, with the next move depending on spot demand, derivatives positioning, and broader market conditions.
