Ethereum (ETH) Sees $350M in Exchange Withdrawals Despite Fed Uncertainty and CLARITY Act Defeat

Ethereum’s price tumbled to approximately $2,400 on Tuesday following the Senate’s failure to pass the CLARITY Act, which fell short of the required 60-vote threshold for advancement. Senate Republicans rejected amendments proposed by Democrats, sparking a 5% decline in ETH’s value. However, blockchain metrics reveal a more nuanced picture beneath the surface.

Data tracking exchange movements indicates that more than 140,000 ETH — approximately $350 million in value — was withdrawn from centralized exchanges during a 96-hour timeframe. Crypto analyst Ali Martinez highlighted this trend on X, stating: “With less $ETH available on exchanges, potential sell-side pressure is declining, strengthening the case for a bullish breakout.” Exchange inventory has contracted significantly from 22.9 million ETH in June 2020 to merely 6.06 million today, according to Santiment analytics. This reduction stems from staking activities, ETF accumulation, and corporate treasuries such as Bitmine, which currently controls 4.9% of Ethereum’s entire circulating supply.

Major holders — addresses containing between 10K and 100K ETH — accumulated approximately 200K ETH throughout the previous week. Meanwhile, smaller retail wallets distributed roughly 192K ETH during this same window, maintaining a selling pattern that has persisted since early this year.

Institutional Capital Flows Through ETFs Remain Robust

United States spot Ethereum ETFs captured $121 million in new capital on Monday alone, representing the second straight day of net positive accumulation. The previous Friday witnessed $216.4 million flowing into ETH ETFs, notably occurring on a day when Bitcoin ETFs experienced net outflows. Ethereum ETFs have now posted positive weekly flows for five consecutive weeks since the period ending August 21.

Source; SoSoValue

Deribit’s open interest expanded to $11.77 billion in anticipation of the Federal Reserve announcement, gaining $700 million since September 12. Binance’s long/short ratio reached 3.10 — the most elevated level observed since June 2026 — indicating that traders are predominantly positioned for upward price movement ahead of the Fed’s interest rate decision.

Cryptocurrency market analyst IncomeSharks shared on X that ETH appears to be repeating a recognizable pattern: “Fakeout above, fakeout below, run it back. Same playbook as last time,” referencing previous price consolidation phases. In a separate observation, analyst Ted pointed out on X that a major holder liquidated $64 million worth of Bitcoin and converted the entire proceeds into ETH.

Critical Technical Levels Under Watch

ETH currently trades beneath its 20-day EMA positioned at $2,435 and the $2,431 support threshold. The RSI indicator hovers around 51, while the Stochastic oscillator has entered oversold conditions.

Should ETH prove unable to recover above $2,431, the subsequent support zone lies at the 50-day EMA around $2,270, with the 200-day EMA at $2,266 providing additional backing. A daily close beneath $2,380 could potentially trigger a retest of the $2,200 level.

The Binance long/short ratio standing at 3.10 combined with five straight weeks of ETF inflows represent the strongest bullish indicators currently available in the dataset.