Ethereum loses 7% due to high volume selloffs, altcoin rotation
February 16, 2026
The recent downturn in the crypto market has seen Ethereum (ETHUSD) drop by approximately 7% over the last 24 hours, with prices hovering around $1,940.37 as investors move to close leveraged positions. MarketForces Africa has noted that Ethereum has been in the headlines lately due to a mix of institutional adoption and selling pressure from large holders.
The decline in Ethereum’s price is part of a wider trend of altcoins underperforming as the market experiences high-volume sell-offs and a shift in capital away from alternative cryptocurrencies. Ethereum’s trading volume has seen a significant increase of 72.63% to $28.9 billion during this downturn, suggesting a strong conviction among sellers.
Compared to Bitcoin, Ethereum’s drop has been almost three times as severe, with the former experiencing a decline of -6.87% compared to Bitcoin’s -2.38%. This disparity indicates a risk-off sentiment within the crypto market, with capital flowing out of major altcoins. As a result, Ethereum’s market dominance has decreased from 10.49% to 10.02% in a 24-hour period.
From a technical perspective, ETH is currently trading below all key moving averages, signaling a bearish trend structure. Analysts point to the recent swing low at $1,748 as the nearest major support level, suggesting that the path of least resistance is downwards until buyers can push the price above immediate resistance levels.
The combination of significant selling volume, leveraged positions being closed, and weakness in altcoins paints a bleak short-term outlook for Ethereum. Critical support levels will need to be maintained to stabilize the situation. A notable transaction saw crypto figure Garrett Jin deposit 260,000 ETH, valued at approximately $543 million, into Binance in a single swift motion.
Large deposits of this nature are often seen as a sign of impending sales, leading to concerns of increased downward pressure on Ethereum’s price. Meanwhile, popular exchange Coinbase reported a net loss of $667 million in Q4 2025, marking an end to an eight-quarter streak of profitability, with transaction revenue plummeting by 37%.
Despite these challenges, Fundstrat’s Tom Lee remains optimistic about Ether, predicting another “V-shaped recovery” based on its historical ability to bounce back from steep declines. The Central Bank of Nigeria is also expected to conduct an Open Market Operations (OMO) Bills auction to address liquidity spikes in the market.
