NAIROBI (CoinChapter.com)— Ethereum (ETH) collapsed to its lowest level since March 2023, fueling fears of deeper losses after wallets tied to Donald Trump’s crypto project reportedly sold millions in ETH at a loss.
ETH dropped to $1,454 during early trading on April 9, according to TradingView, falling more than 24% in seven days. That level marks a break below key long-term support and places the token in oversold territory on the weekly RSI, which printed 30.29 at the time of writing.
Whales Flee, Prices Crumble
Blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain reported on April 8 that a whale who held 10,000 ETH since late 2022 sold their entire position at $1,578. The wallet initially bought the tokens for $13 million, averaging $1,295 per ETH. The exit yielded a $2.75 million profit—far less than the $27.6 million unrealized gain the whale missed by not selling when ETH hit $4,015 in Dec. 2023.
“This whale didn’t sell when Ether broke through $4,000,” Lookonchain wrote on X. “But today, he exited.”
The ETH whale wasn’t alone. In a separate post on April 9, Lookonchain flagged a wallet “possibly tied” to World Liberty Financial, a Donald Trump-affiliated crypto project. That wallet reportedly sold 5,471 ETH for $8.01 million at $1,465 each. According to Lookonchain, the wallet had bought 67,498 ETH at an average of $3,259—implying a $125 million paper loss.
Ted Pillows, a crypto analyst on X, wrote, “Is Trump selling $ETH? $125,000,000 in loss with Ethereum buys at $3,249.”
While the direct connection between Trump and the wallet remains unverified, the panic appears to have impacted market sentiment.
Price Targets Shift as Fear Builds
Crypto Tony, a market commentator with over 300,000 followers on X, warned on April 9 that ETH could fall further, citing $1,290 and $1,200 as next key levels.
“Does not look good,” he wrote. “I saw a big whale capitulated yesterday, which is a good sign when looking for a near bottom.”
Market data supports the bearish view. ETH has broken below the 0.5 and 0.618 Fibonacci retracement levels of the 2023–2024 rally. The breakdown below $1,753—the cycle’s local bottom—further weakened bullish hopes. As of now, the price hovers just above $1,450, with little support until $1,200.
Analyst Ali Martinez also weighed in. “$1,200 could be where #Ethereum $ETH finds its footing!” he posted on X.
The ETH/BTC ratio also hit a five-year low of 0.018 on April 9. According to analyst James Check, Ether has underperformed Bitcoin on 85% of trading days since launch. “Ethereum has only outperformed Bitcoin for 15% of all trading days,” he posted.
The last time the ETH/BTC pair dropped below this level was in Dec. 2019, when ETH traded at $125 while Bitcoin hovered near $7,000.
“Stagnation” Fears Grip Ethereum Community
Some long-time ETH supporters have expressed concerns about the network’s broader stagnation.
“I love Ethereum. However, it’s time to face reality,” wrote Web3 researcher Stacy Muur. “Ethereum has had [around] the same number of active addresses for the past 4 years.”
That view echoes a broader frustration within the Ethereum community. While Ethereum Layer-2 networks like Arbitrum and Optimism have grown rapidly, base-layer activity has plateaued.
According to L2beat, Layer-2 platforms now hold a growing share of Ethereum’s total value locked (TVL), but that has not translated into higher ETH demand in recent months.
Meanwhile, macro conditions remain hostile. The Trump administration’s sweeping global tariffs, announced last week and then partially reversed, triggered risk-off sentiment in markets. Bitcoin dropped below $75,000, while Ethereum sank below its 2022 cycle peak of $1,453.
Some point to the oversold RSI and whale capitulation as signs that a local bottom may form soon. Others caution that $1,200 remains a real possibility if sellers maintain control.