ETH drops 1.68% in 15 minutes: Order book liquidity imbalance and short-term large holder selling resonance

May 4, 2026, 10:00 to 10:15 (UTC), ETH experienced a sharp decline of 1.68% within 15 minutes, with the price dropping from 2369.56 USDT to 2322.57 USDT, a volatility of 1.98%. During this period, buy and sell orders were severely imbalanced, with sell order depth continuously rising from 21,500 ETH to 25,800 ETH, while buy orders shrank from 18,000 ETH to 15,500 ETH, with the gap widening from -3,500 ETH to -10,300 ETH. Market absorption capacity sharply declined, triggering a concentrated release of short-term selling pressure.

The core driver of this anomaly was an imbalance in order book liquidity. ETH order depth on major exchanges is approximately 60-70% of BTC’s, inherently limited in liquidity. Coupled with the concentration of sell orders increasing sharply and buy orders shrinking rapidly during this period, short-term liquidity exhaustion caused the price to fall quickly. Additionally, large short-term traders placed about 3,000 ETH sell orders at high levels, directly suppressing the price, while whales have recently been mainly accumulating, with no large buy orders absorbing the sell pressure during this period, further amplifying the decline as retail traders followed suit and sold off.

At the same time, USDT issued an additional $1 billion at 09:33, generally increasing market liquidity, but funds did not flow directly into ETH spot, instead diverting to other major cryptocurrencies, intensifying ETH’s downward pressure. Technically, ETH did not break below the key support at $3,128, but the short-term correction triggered some stop-loss orders, exacerbating short-term volatility.

Current volatility risks still exist; close attention should be paid to changes in ETH order book depth, whether the key support at $3,128 can hold, and the on-chain whale fund flows. Short-term investors should be alert to slippage risks caused by liquidity exhaustion and continuously monitor the behavior of major players and shifts in market sentiment.