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The broader cryptocurrency market has continued its poor start to the month, with over $355 million worth of leveraged positions wiped out within the last 60 minutes.

Bitcoin dropped below the $68,000 level after losing 10% of its value in the last 24 hours.

Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is also not left behind, as it has dropped below the $2,000 psychological level.

JUST IN: Bitcoin falls under $67,000

$355,000,000 liquidated from the crypto market in the past 60 minutes. pic.twitter.com/iS0ZsRsyXH

— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) February 5, 2026

Ether’s bearish performance comes despite the Ethereum network hitting peak activity over the last few days.

Ethereum network activity hits peak

ETH is currently trading below $2,000 after losing 10% of its value since Wednesday. The sell-off comes despite the Ethereum network experiencing its most active phase to date. 

Recent on-chain data shows Ethereum reaching a major milestone as transfer counts hit a record high.

According to CryptoQuant, since the start of the month, Ethereum Transfer Count—the total number of token transfers—measured by a 14-day moving average, reached a record level of 1.1 million.

This suggests strong network growth and broader adoption of Ethereum. However, Ethereum faces a massive decline in retail demand, as traders increasingly close positions rather than open new ones. 

The coin’s derivatives market remains weak, with futures OI plummeting to $25.4 billion, from $26.3 billion the previous day.

In an email to Invezz, Ruslan Lienkha, chief of markets at YouHodler, stated that:

As risk sentiment weakened across global markets, capital rotated away from growth-oriented and speculative assets, putting pressure on both tech equities and crypto.

The analyst added that the deleveraging process has accelerated sell-offs, as liquidations triggered additional downward pressure, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of volatility.

Such events are typical in crypto markets, where leverage levels are often higher than in traditional asset classes.

ETH could record further losses as momentum indicators remain bearish

The ETH/USD 4H chart remains extremely bearish as Ethereum has recorded massive losses over the past few days. It has dropped below its previous intraday low of $2,068 and now trades at $1,929 per coin. 

With the bears in control, the downward-trending 50-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at $2,899, the 100-day EMA at $3,105, and the 200-day EMA at $3,232 make it harder for Ether to undergo a recovery in the near term. 

The RSI has dropped to 21, indicating the 4-hour chart is oversold and suggesting bearish momentum is building.

If the RSI dips further, ETH could retest the $1,800 support level for the first time since May 2025.

(Click on image to enlarge)

The MACD lines are also below the signal line, with the red histogram bars indicating an extremely bearish market condition.

However. If the bulls regain control of the market in the near term, Ether could reclaim the $2,200 resistance level over the next few hours or days.

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