Ethereum’s native token, Ether (ETH), fell below $2,000 for the first time since March, but retail investors have not yet reacted with panic.

Key takeaways:

• Ethereum retail data shows growing “buy on the dip” sentiment, which could lead to further declines.
• Macro data such as ETF net flows and whale behavior show that institutions are selling ETH.

Retail FOMO warns of further ETH price declines

According to data resource Santiment, “buy the dip” calls have intensified on social media since Thursday after ETH lost a key level of psychological support.

This suggests that retail traders view the decline as an opportunity for a discount rather than a warning signal.

Historically, excessive public optimism after a acute decline can signal further deterioration in the future, as retail sentiment has often peaked before prices stabilize. A stronger contrarian buy signal may only emerge when FOMO subsides and panic prevails.

“There will be an opportunity to buy Ethereum, but it would be best to wait until most people cool down their FOMO and start showing panic,” Santiment he said in Thursday’s post, adding:

“This is how you will buy while there is real blood in the streets.”

Institutional selling is outweighing retail bullishness

Larger Ethereum investors appear to be moving against retail buyers.

Harvard University’s endowment recently liquidated its entire $87 million position in ETH, while Bankless co-founder David Hoffman, one of Ethereum’s backers, also revealed that he had sold his ETH holdings.

US Ether spot ETFs have seen steady outflows since May 7, recording withdrawals of over $470 million in the past two weeks.

US Spot ETH ETF daily net flows. Source: Glassnode

Ethereum mega-whales, wallets holding over 10,000 ETH, are also reducing exposure. According to them, in 2026 they reduced their balances by more than 5%. Glassnode data.

Ethereum mega-whale net position change and balance compared to ETH price. Source: Glassnode

Tom Lee’s BitMine remains a key counterweight, holding approximately 5.21 million ETH, or approximately 4.31% of the supply, as part of its pursuit of owning 5% of the network.

Related: Bitmine is slowing down Ethereum purchases, it is expected to have 5% of the supply in December

Lee argued that Ethereum is entering a long-term “supercycle” driven by Wall Street tokenization and AI agents using neutral public blockchains.

But that plant is now deep underwater. According to BitMine data, the average purchase price of ETH is around $3,484, while ETH costs around $1,990, leaving the company with an unrealized loss estimated at $8.07 billion. DropStab.COM.

Bitmine’s Ethereum wallet performance chart. Source: DropStab.COM

ETH price may retest the macro low at $1,750

Since Thursday, the value of ETH has dropped by as much as 3% intraday to around $1,965. The move also sent Ethereum down more than 40% from its 2026 high of near $3,400.

The latest decline came after breaking what appeared to be a rising wedge – a bearish reversal pattern formed by two rising, converging trend lines.

3-day ETH/USD price chart. Source: TradingView

Such setups typically resolve when price breaks below the lower trend line, with the downside target being measured by subtracting the high of the wedge from the breakout point.

ETH entered a slump on Saturday and has since deepened its losses, refocusing on a measured downside target near $1,750, or about 18.5% from current levels.

In his Thursday post, analyst Ardi did as well predicted $1,750 as next ETH down target.