ETH drops 0.60% in 15 minutes: Large capital selling pressure and liquidity imbalance amplify short-term risks

On April 15, 2026, from 13:30 to 13:45 (UTC), ETH experienced significant price fluctuations, with a 15-minute candlestick return of -0.60%, a price range between 2317.79 and 2333.92 USDT, and an amplitude of 0.69%. During this period, market attention increased, volatility intensified, and short-term selling pressure was concentrated and released.

The main driver of this movement was large-position accounts transferring ETH en masse to centralized exchanges, triggering large sell orders. On-chain data shows that after funds moved to the platform, a series of large sell orders formed, exacerbating downward pressure in the spot market. Meanwhile, the order book structure showed a clear imbalance, with sell orders densely stacked at key price levels, but buy support significantly weakened, making the price highly sensitive to unilateral sell-offs.

Additionally, ETH’s overall liquidity situation further deteriorated. ETH’s market capitalization fell from early 2025 to $304 billion, while the supply of stablecoins like USDT increased by 15.45%, with on-chain funds continuously shifting toward safe-haven assets. ETH holdings in DeFi liquidity pools decreased by approximately 1.2% during this window, with funds flowing into stablecoin pools, indicating rising market risk aversion. Trading volume surged about 18% compared to the previous cycle, but insufficient buy-side absorption caused sell pressure impacts to amplify quickly, resonating multiple stress points and pushing short-term volatility higher.

The issues of fragmented liquidity and insufficient depth in ETH remain unresolved, with price sensitivity to large orders staying high. Future focus should be on tracking large on-chain fund flows, order book depth, and changes in DeFi pool holdings, remaining alert to new fund migrations or concentrated sell pressure events. Short-term volatility risks are increasing; closely monitor key support levels and market sentiment shifts to obtain more real-time market information.