Between 17:30 and 17:45 on March 2, 2026 (UTC), the price of ETH dropped sharply from 2058.07 USDT to 2026.2 USDT, with a short-term return of -1.23% and a volatility of 1.55%. Short-term fluctuations intensified significantly, market attention increased, and liquidity became tight.
The main driver of this movement was leveraged long positions being liquidated en masse, with some contract longs triggering stop-loss orders, causing the price to plummet rapidly. Additionally, key daily support levels were quickly broken, accelerating technical decline and further triggering systemic selling pressure.
On-chain data shows that within 15 minutes, ETH net outflows reached 13,740 tokens, as multiple whale addresses shifted funds into stablecoins during the volatility, creating liquidity pressure. Moreover, overall market sentiment turned cautious, with open interest in short positions on derivatives markets expanding simultaneously, leading to cross-market resonance and further increasing volatility.
Short-term risks remain high. Future focus should be on the 2020 USDT support level, changes in on-chain fund flows, and macroeconomic news. Investors should be alert to rapid pullbacks and chain reaction risks in derivatives markets, and continuously monitor real-time prices and abnormal on-chain activities.