From 19:15 to 19:30 (UTC) on June 3, 2026, ETH fell 0.66% within 15 minutes. The price range was 1,814.39 - 1,829.26 USDT, with a 0.81% amplitude. This sharp intraday drop occurred against the backdrop of ETH already being in a period of continued pullbacks. On June 2, ETH’s intraday drop was -7.32%, showing an accelerating downtrend.
The main driver behind this sudden move is that sentiment in the derivatives market remains weak. ETH futures premium has fallen below the key threshold of 5%, indicating that professional investors’ expectations for short-term price increases are at a relatively low level. The lack of futures premium directly weakens the market’s buy-side support. At the same time, leverage long liquidation pressure has been concentrated and released. In the past 24 hours’ crypto derivatives market selloff, the liquidation amount of ETH-related long contracts reached $256.83 million, accounting for 39% of total liquidations—far exceeding Bitcoin’s $180.89 million. Forced liquidation of leveraged positions has created a negative price spiral.
Second, on-chain fund behavior has intensified selling pressure. Long-term holders reduced their holdings by 847,000 ETH over the past 30 days, the largest month-over-month drop since January 2021. ETH that had been locked out of the market re-entered circulation, increasing sell-side supply. Network fees have also fallen 45% from their recent peak, reflecting decreased activity in application scenarios such as DeFi and NFTs and a soft demand side for fundamentals. Meanwhile, Bitcoin breaking below the $71,000 key technical level triggered a market correlation effect, and rising geopolitical risk (tense Middle East situation) added further pressure. Risk assets overall are under strain, and multiple factors converged during the 19:15-19:30 period, when liquidity was thin.
In the short term, it’s necessary to watch whether futures premium can recover, whether Bitcoin can stabilize at the key support level, and whether long-term holders’ selling continues. Volatility risk remains; it’s recommended to monitor on-chain fund flows and changes in macro news.