Ethereum prices fall after Wash Jackson Hole speech: Where next?

Ethereum fell to $2435: Federal Reserve Chairman Walsh's speech in Jackson Hole triggered market turmoil

On Saturday, Ethereum prices fell to $2435, down 2.50% from the previous day. The decline follows Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Walsh's speech at the 2026 Jackson Hole Annual Symposium. Traders were clearly disappointed by the statement.

Previously, Ethereum had been hovering near recent highs before the speech. Now it is testing a key price that traders believe makes sense.

Why did prices fall today?

Ethereum's sell-off can be traced back to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. According to financial media reports, Walsh said recent PCE (personal consumption expenditure) and CPI (consumer price index) inflation data were better than expected. But he did not make it clear that underlying inflation trends had improved significantly.

He also did not give a clear interest rate path. Instead, Walsh called on the Fed to "keep a low profile." This means that the central bank will rely less on forward-looking guidance and send less signals to the market that it is available for trading.

This is completely different from the style of predecessor Chairman Powell. Powell often appeases Wall Street by signaling interest rate cuts. Washi seems to be deliberately doing the opposite.

The market responded quickly. Traders had previously digested expectations of suspending interest rates at the September meeting. Any sign that loose monetary policy is not a foregone conclusion will often hit risky assets such as cryptocurrencies first, with Ethereum bearing the brunt.

Ethereum Price Today: Key Data

Ethereum Price: US$2,433.77
24-hour rise and fall: -2.54%
Futures trading volume: approximately US$42.72 billion
Contract holdings: approximately US$32.28 billion
Options trading volume change: +7.94%
Options holdings change: +2.78%
Long-short ratio: 0.9693
24-hour total liquidation amount: US$94.36 million
Long clearing amount: US$73.67 million
Short clearing amount: US$20.7 million

The long-short ratio is slightly lower than 1, indicating that the market is relatively balanced but slightly biased towards short positions. However, some major exchanges still have more long positions than short positions, so the market is not one-sided.

Liquidation data reveals market conditions more clearly. Long traders suffered even more losses, with a loss of $73.67 million, while short traders lost only $20.7 million. This is consistent with falling prices that have caught leveraged bulls off guard.

Is the Ethereum Spot ETF still attracting capital inflows?

Yes, this is the part worth paying attention to. According to data from data platform SoSoValue, the net inflow of Ethereum spot ETF that day was US$102 million. This extended the number of consecutive capital inflows to 10 trading days.

From August 17 to August 27, the cumulative net inflow of Ethereum ETF was US$1.42 billion. Among them, BlackRock's ETHA fund contributed most of the funds, accounting for 72% of the total inflows.

The situation is different for Bitcoin funds. The Bitcoin ETF's nine-day capital inflow record was broken on August 28, with a net outflow of US$202 million that day. Therefore, while Bitcoin funds experience capital outflows, Ethereum funds continue to attract capital.

Since the launch of the Ethereum ETF in July 2024, its cumulative net inflow has exceeded US$12 billion. Bitcoin ETFs still lead the way with cumulative net inflows of more than $54 billion, but recent trends suggest that investor funds are temporarily shifting to Ethereum.

Lower Treasury yields and an overall favorable macro environment supported Ethereum's risk appetite during this period, even though uncertainty about the Fed's policy still hangs over the market.

Ethereum price forecast: The current key price

Ethereum has reached a critical node, and the next step is of great significance.

Earlier this year, the price of Ethereum climbed from about $1900 to around $2550. It then traded sideways near the high for several days. Today, prices have fallen back to about $2400.

As long as the US$2400 to US$2420 range remains supported, the first target for a rebound is to return to US$2480 to US$2500. After breaking through the zone, the real test will be a local high of $2535 to $2555.

If we can effectively break through and stand firm above the region, it will open up space for prices to rise to US$2600 to US$2650, followed by US$2750. If momentum continues to increase,$3000 will become the main upward target on the chart.

Losing $2400 will change the situation. In this case,$2350 will become the next support level worthy of attention.

The future path is as follows: hold on to $2400, recover $2500, break through local highs near $2555, and then look higher.

A simple correction in itself is not a red flag. Only when buyers fail to hold on to the same areas that supported the previous rally will the technical structure begin to show signs of fatigue.

Larger landscape: Prices complete a complete cycle

From a more macro perspective, Ethereum completed the price cycle of the past year in eight months. Prices fell from $2650 to $1500, and have now rebounded to resistance around $2440.

Judging from the volume distribution, there are almost no transactions in the area above US$2600. This means that there is almost no historical trading activity above the current price, or a "vacuum zone."

If Ethereum breaks through this zone, there will be little resistance from the current price to $3000 or higher. But if it is blocked at this level, prices will fall directly back to the $1600 to $2200 range, where most of the volume used to be concentrated.

This is the current market pattern: a compressed spring, no matter which direction it breaks through, its next move may be very drastic.