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Ethereum price prediction $2.8K as bulls defend key levels and $1.8B in long liquidations

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What wiped out $1.7 billion?

Ethereum price prediction as bounce above key moving averages has traders watching a potential breakout toward the $2,800 area — but a dense liquidation pocket still hangs below the market.

Ethereum (ETH) price has reclaimed several important technical levels, with analysts now framing $2,800 as a realistic upside target if bulls can sustain momentum. Recent research summarized by Jinshi Finance notes that ETH has moved back above its 20‑day exponential moving average (EMA) near $2,072 and the 50‑day EMA around $2,210, breaking out of a prior bearish flag and carving out a symmetrical triangle structure. If that triangle resolves higher, the measured‑move projection points toward roughly $2,850, an area that also coincides with the 200‑day EMA and a major resistance band from earlier in the year.

Ethereum price prediction

On the downside, derivatives positioning is creating a clear line in the sand. Coinglass data cited in the same report show that if ETH drops below about $2,174, cumulative long liquidations across major centralized exchanges would reach roughly $1.817 billion, concentrated in highly levered perp and futures positions. In contrast, a break above the $2,400 area would flip the script, triggering an estimated $792 million in cumulative short liquidations, potentially adding fuel to any upside move toward that $2,800–$2,850 target. In other words, price is pinned between a sizeable long liquidation air pocket beneath and a stacked short liquidation zone above.

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Spot and derivatives traders are already starting to position around that range. According to crypto.news price data, Ethereum is currently trading near $2,201, up about 6.8% over the last 24 hours, with a session range between roughly $2,041.70 and $2,200.03 and 24‑hour volume around $27.76 billion. Bitcoin, which still sets the broader risk tone, is hovering close to $73,778, up 5.8% on the day, with a 24‑hour low of $69,460 and high of $73,770 on turnover above $55.4 billion. These moves suggest the latest bid in ETH is not happening in isolation, but as part of a broader grind higher in majors following the recent Iran‑driven volatility.

For traders, the setup is binary and brutally clear: lose the $2,170–$2,200 zone and that $1.8 billion long‑liquidation overhang becomes a real risk; reclaim and hold above $2,400 and shorts may be forced to chase into a low‑liquidity move toward the 200‑day EMA. In this kind of structure, execution and sizing matter more than conviction — especially with leverage stacked on both sides of the book. Readers can monitor intraday levels on crypto.news dashboards for Ethereum and Bitcoin, and for further context on how derivatives positioning has been shaping recent moves, see our coverage of why Bitcoin slipped under $66K earlier in the cycle, the latest ETF‑driven flows into BTC, and Michael Saylor’s ongoing treasury‑backed Bitcoin accumulation.

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Crypto World

Crypto Market Loses $1.5 Trillion in Two Quarters: Is the Worst Still Ahead for Bitcoin?

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Brian Armstrong's Bold Prediction: AI Agents Will Soon Dominate Global Financial

TLDR:

  • Crypto markets shed over $1.5 trillion across Q4 2025 and Q1 2026, with Bitcoin driving nearly 60% of total losses.
  • Gold outperformed Bitcoin by nearly 40% in recent months, a strong signal that large capital favors safety over risk assets.
  • Bitcoin has traded flat between $65K and $69K for weeks despite rising oil prices and growing geopolitical tensions globally.
  • BTC dominance and the gold-to-Bitcoin ratio remain the two most critical metrics to watch for early signs of market recovery.

The crypto market sits at a crossroads as Bitcoin consolidates within a narrow range. Over the past two quarters, digital assets lost over $1.5 trillion in total market value.

Institutional capital has pulled back, and macro forces are weighing on risk appetite. Traders are watching carefully as the market weighs potential recovery against further downside, with conditions outside crypto likely determining the next major move.

Bitcoin’s Recent Losses Point to Broader Institutional Retreat

Bitcoin led the market lower across Q4 2025 and Q1 2026. Combined, those two quarters wiped out roughly 45% in value from the broader market. BTC accounted for nearly 60% of total losses recorded during that period.

That detail changes how analysts read the sell-off. When Bitcoin drives the drawdown, it is not retail traders dumping speculative tokens. It reflects real capital reducing exposure across the entire asset class.

As MR Black noted on X, “When BTC is leading the drawdown, it isn’t a sector rotation. It isn’t retail panic selling memecoins.” That observation carries weight, especially for investors trying to time a re-entry into the market.

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Gold’s Outperformance Sends a Clear Risk-Off Signal

The XAU/BTC ratio has shifted nearly 40% in gold’s favor over recent months. Gold offers no yield and carries no technological narrative. Its strength signals that large capital holders are choosing preservation over growth.

That ratio matters because it reflects institutional psychology, not retail sentiment. When the biggest players move into gold, it means confidence in risk assets remains low. Crypto has not yet shown the kind of recovery that would pull that capital back.

However, analysts note that this ratio could become one of the first signs of a turnaround. When it begins reversing, it may indicate that risk appetite is returning and that institutional money is ready to rotate back into Bitcoin.

Sideways Price Action Raises Questions About What Comes Next

Bitcoin has traded between roughly $65,000 and $69,000 for several weeks. That range has held despite rising geopolitical tension, higher oil prices, and growing inflation concerns. Normally, any of those factors would trigger sharp movement in crypto markets.

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The muted reaction suggests one of two things. Either the market has already absorbed much of the uncertainty, or it remains so undecided that it needs a strong external trigger to break either way. That ambiguity makes directional calls difficult right now.

BTC dominance remains a key metric to track through this period. When dominance rises, capital clusters in Bitcoin and altcoins suffer.

When it falls, capital rotates into higher-risk assets, and historically that rotation has preceded some of the strongest alt-season runs in a given cycle.

The path forward for crypto depends heavily on macro developments in the coming weeks. If oil cools and geopolitical risks ease, the current consolidation could prove to be a base for recovery.

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If conditions worsen, further downside remains possible, with altcoins likely absorbing the most pressure. Traders watching signals beyond the price chart may be better positioned for whatever move comes next.

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Attorney Says Drift Protocol May Be Liable for Damages After Attack

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Cybercrime, North Korea, Cybersecurity, Hacks, Lazarus Group

The hack of the Solana-based decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Drift Protocol could have been prevented if standard operational security procedures were followed by the Drift team, and may constitute “civil negligence,” according to attorney Ariel Givner.

“In plain terms, civil negligence means they failed their basic duty to protect the money they were managing,” Givner said in response to the post-mortem update provided by the Drift team and how it handled Wednesday’s $280 million exploit.

The Drift team failed to follow “basic” security procedures, including keeping signing keys on separate, “air-gapped” systems that are never used for developer work, and conducting due diligence on blockchain developers met through industry conferences.

Cybercrime, North Korea, Cybersecurity, Hacks, Lazarus Group
Source: Ariel Givner

“Every serious project knows this. Drift didn’t follow it,” she said, adding, “They knew crypto is full of hackers, especially North Korean state teams.” Givner continued: 

“Yet their team spent months chatting on Telegram, meeting strangers at conferences, opening sketchy code repos, and downloading fake apps on devices tied to multisignature controls.”

Advertisements for class action lawsuits against Drift Protocol are already circulating, she said. Cointelegraph reached out to the Drift Team but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

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Cybercrime, North Korea, Cybersecurity, Hacks, Lazarus Group
Source: Ariel Givner

The incident is a reminder that social engineering and project infiltration by malicious actors are major attack vectors for cryptocurrency developers that could drain user funds and permanently erode customer trust in compromised platforms.

Related: Drift explains $280M exploit as critics question Circle over USDC freeze

Drift Protocol says attack took “months” of planning

The Drift Protocol team published an update on Saturday outlining how the exploit occurred and claimed that the attackers planned the attack for six months before execution.

Threat actors first approached the Drift team at a “major” crypto industry conference in October 2025, expressing interest in protocol integrations and collaboration.

The malicious actors continued to build rapport with the Drift development team in the ensuing six months, and once enough trust was built, they began sending the Drift team malicious links and embedding malware that compromised developer machines.

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These individuals, who are suspected of working for North Korea state-affiliated hackers and physically approached the Drift developers, were not North Korean nationals, according to the Drift team.

Drift said, with “medium-high confidence,” that the exploit was carried out by the same actors behind the October 2024 Radiant Capital hack.

In December 2024, Radiant Capital said the exploit was carried out through malware sent via Telegram from a North Korea-aligned hacker posing as an ex-contractor. 

Magazine: Meet the hackers who can help get your crypto life savings back

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