The cryptocurrency market faced renewed turbulence today as Ethereum (ETH) dropped sharply following U.S. President Donald Trump’s warning of potential tariff hikes on Chinese goods. The comments came after reports that China plans to impose export restrictions on rare earth elements, materials essential to global technology and semiconductor industries. The escalation revived fears of a renewed U.S.–China trade war, tightening liquidity and triggering risk-off sentiment across global markets, including crypto.
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, fell 4.48% over the past 24 hours to $4,120, extending its seven-day decline to 8.49%, according to CoinMarketCap data. The coin’s market cap now stands at $497 billion, with 24-hour trading volume down nearly 8% to $40.9 billion. The steep sell-off came as investors reacted to the broader decline led by Bitcoin’s 1.5% drop and widespread weakness in altcoins.
Institutional Outflows and Technical Breakdown
Spot Ethereum ETFs saw $8 million in net outflows on October 9, ending a 14-day inflow streak and signaling waning institutional demand amid rising macroeconomic uncertainty. However, BitMine Immersion Technologies took the opposite approach, adding 23,823 ETH (worth $104 million) to its treasury, bringing its total holdings to $12.4 billion, a move that underscores the divergence between short-term traders and long-term accumulators.
The ETH/BTC ratio also slipped, reflecting relative weakness against Bitcoin. On the technical front, Ethereum broke below its 7-day simple moving average (SMA) of $4,508, testing the 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level around $4,406. The RSI-14 now hovers near 49.6, showing neutral momentum, but funding rates turned negative (-0.0059%), suggesting traders are increasingly betting against further upside.
Outlook
With trade tensions and liquidity concerns weighing on risk assets, Ethereum could remain volatile in the short term. Analysts expect support near $4,000, but warn that if selling pressure persists, ETH may retest the $3,850 region. Still, institutional accumulation and network strength could provide a medium-term buffer once macro conditions stabilize.
