$153M Floods Into Ethereum – So Why Is ETH Price Stuck in Neutral?

Ethereum just scored a $153 million liquidity injection – the kind of whale move that typically sends crypto markets into a frenzy. Yet ETH''s price chart looks like it''s stuck in quicksand. What gives?

Behind the Bullish Numbers

On-chain data shows institutional money pouring in, but the market''s responding with all the excitement of a Wall Street banker at a DeFi conference. The disconnect? Probably the same old suspects: overleveraged derivatives traders, exchange-traded product flows, and that one whale who keeps dumping at resistance levels.

Market Mechanics vs. Momentum

Liquidity inflows don''t automatically translate to price action – not when the crypto market''s plumbing resembles a Rube Goldberg machine. Between staking lockups and futures market contango, ETH''s fundamentals and price movements have developed a serious communication problem.

Meanwhile, traditional finance keeps trying to ''fix'' crypto volatility while simultaneously creating new synthetic derivatives that would make a 2008 quant trader blush. The irony''s thicker than a Bitcoin maximalist''s tinfoil hat.

Liquidity pours into ETH, but price stays flat

Analysis shows that in the past 24 hours, ETH recorded the most positive Bridged Netflow, suggesting more liquidity inflow.

Bridged Netflow measures how much liquidity moved between different assets. In the case of ETH, the majority of the liquidity inflow came from Base.

Source: Artemis

However, ETH barely moved. That contradiction is telling.

When large inflows don’t trigger upward momentum, it’s often because selling pressure is acting as a counterweight. And right now, that weight appears to be growing.

A crack forming at ETH’s month-old floor?

Press-time analysis of ETH’s price movement on the chart shows that the altcoin could see a significant price decline in the coming trading sessions.

ETH has traded in a tight consolidation range since mid-May. But price is now hugging the support line.

Source: DeFiLlama

This support level has historically pushed price to the upside; however, in this case, the opposite appears true, particularly as bearish pressure in the market continues to mount notably.

According to DeFiLlama, Ethereum’s Total Value Locked stood at $89.13 billion on the 11th of June.

But by press time, TVL had dropped to $84.53 billion, marking a $4.6 billion exit in under 48 hours.

Source: DeFiLlama

This significant drop attests to the ongoing liquidity outflow in the market, reflecting weakening market sentiment and raising the possibility that ETH could lose significant value.

The Futures market shows declining interest

A broader view of the derivatives market adds weight to the bearish setup.

ETH futures analysis at the time showed that Open Interest had dropped sharply, from $41.43 billion to $34.66 billion.

That $6.77 billion drop shows traders are reducing exposure or getting liquidated.

Source: CoinGlass

At the same time, long liquidations in the market accounted for $29.56 million, with total liquidations at $13.30 million.

Continued selling pressure and a decline in long positions could significantly affect the asset, potentially forcing a further drop in the market.