TL;DR:
- U.S. spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded a net outflow of $121 million.
- Bankless co-founder David Hoffman completely liquidated his ETH position on May 26, 2026.
- The Ethereum network currently concentrates between 50% and 65% of the stablecoin and tokenized real-world asset (RWA) market.
The crypto market is evaluating the Ethereum risks in the face of a possible technical correction that could compromise its medium-term structure.
The price behavior of the market’s leading altcoin has raised alarms among technical analysts and institutional investors alike. According to a technical analysis published by Ali Martinez, the upcoming weekly candle close will be the determining factor in defining the cryptocurrency’s trajectory.
If Ethereum $ETH prints a weekly close below $1,850, a downside acceleration becomes highly likely.
From a purely technical perspective, the broader channel structure points to two major downside targets following this rejection:
• First Target: Around $1,560 (interim… https://t.co/LNkygeXO5n pic.twitter.com/rOGsvEsahu
— Ali Charts (@alicharts) May 29, 2026
Martinez notes that a weekly candle close below the key support of $1,850 could accelerate selling pressure in the market. If this level breaks, the analyst’s data suggests that the first bearish target would be located near $1,560.
In the worst-case scenario, the decline would not stop there. The technical report indicates that the final point of the drop within its multi-year channel could drag the price toward the lower limit of the range, situated near $1,070.
This weakness on the charts coincides with prolonged disinterest from traditional financial institutions. U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs accumulated a streak of thirteen consecutive days of capital withdrawals as of late May 2026.
Conflicting Views: Between Capitulation and the Long Term
The bearish pressure added a significant psychological component following a high-profile institutional-grade sale. David Hoffman, co-founder of Bankless, sold the entirety of his ETH holdings on May 26, 2026, after holding his assets for a period of nine years.
Hoffman stated that the token has reached its fair value and currently lacks additional upside potential. From his perspective, the network operates altruistically by transferring economic benefits to Layer-2 protocols, rather than accruing value for Layer-1 validators and holders.
Conversely, the banking sector maintains an opposite stance regarding the current price action. A report by Standard Chartered compared the recent ETH drawdown to the historic collapse of Amazon shares in 2001, when the tech company’s stock crashed from $113 to just $6 despite its internal metrics continuing to grow.
The banking institution emphasized that the network’s fundamentals remain solid due to its dominance in the tokenized assets and stablecoin sectors. Under this premise, Standard Chartered’s projections point to a target of $4,000 by the close of 2026 and $40,000 looking ahead to the year 2030, driven by the industry’s projected growth for 2028. The market will decide the validity of these projections based on Ethereum’s ability to hold the $1,850 level.
