ETH drops 0.56% in 15 minutes: leveraged liquidation and weakening spot support resonate to trigger short-term selling pressure

From 11:00 to 11:15 (UTC) on April 21, 2026, the ETH price briefly fell by 0.56%, with a trading range of 2316.27-2331.44 USDT and an amplitude of 0.65%, indicating a clear increase in market volatility.

The main driving force behind this abnormal move is a resonance effect formed by highly concentrated leverage funds and long-term holders synchronously reducing positions. Since mid-April, ETH futures open interest has surged 26% week over week; over the seven weeks combined, the cumulative increase has reached 45%, and the total scale has already exceeded $25.4 billion. Positions are highly concentrated on a small number of platforms, making the price extremely sensitive to changes in short-term capital—small fluctuations can trigger a chain reaction of liquidations.

Second, spot buying support has weakened significantly. The net position change indicator for long-term holders (Hodler) has rapidly dropped from a peak of 543,169 ETH in late March to 121,902 ETH, a decline of about 78%. Large holders with 10,000-100,000 ETH have also begun to cut positions since March 27. Insufficient spot capital inflows have caused underlying support to loosen in the market. In addition, in late April, as the ERJ26 futures contract approaches its expiration, leveraged longs face settlement pressure. There is also a hidden bearish divergence in the technical picture, which further amplifies the risk of a correction.

Currently, the risk of leverage deleveraging still remains. If the price continues to face pressure, it may trigger larger-scale passive liquidations. The key support level is at $2,000; if it is broken, the market may move down to the 1750-1730 USDT range. As short-term volatility increases, users need to watch for changes in leveraged positions and whether key technical levels hold or fail, and be alert to the risk of further correction.