Ethereum (ETH) Price Plunges Below $3,000 as $500 Million in Long Positions Gets Wiped Out
Ethereum's price just sliced through the $3,000 support level, triggering a massive wave of liquidations. The move erased over half a billion dollars from leveraged bullish bets in a brutal market shakeout.
The Liquidation Cascade
A sharp price drop below a key psychological threshold acted like a wrecking ball for over-leveraged traders. Stop-loss orders and margin calls fired off in rapid succession, amplifying the downward pressure. It's a classic case of the market humbling those who bet too big with borrowed money—a timeless lesson Wall Street never seems to learn, even in its digital form.
What This Means for the Market
Such a significant flush of long positions often creates a temporary vacuum. While painful in the moment, these events can wash out weak hands and set the stage for a healthier foundation. The $500 million figure isn't just a statistic; it represents a massive transfer of capital from the overconfident to the patient.
Volatility is the price of admission in crypto. Today's bloodbath for bulls could be tomorrow's buying opportunity. The network's fundamentals haven't changed, but trader sentiment just got a harsh, and perhaps necessary, reality check.
TLDR
- Ethereum price fell over 10% in 24 hours, dropping below $3,000 after breaking support at $2,900
- $500 million in long positions were liquidated as the market crashed
- Trading volume jumped 200% to 33.2 billion as the wider crypto market declined by 6.98%
- The Fusaka upgrade went live on December 3, enhancing Ethereum’s Layer 2 transaction capacity
- RSI at 32 shows oversold conditions while key support levels sit at $2,700 and $2,500
Ethereum price dropped over 10% in the past 24 hours, falling below the $3,000 level. The decline came after the cryptocurrency broke through critical support at $2,900.
The crash triggered a wave of stop-loss orders and resulted in $500 million worth of liquidated long positions. Of the $158 million in Ethereum-related contracts that were flushed out, $140 million involved long positions alone.
Trading volume surged to 33.2 billion, marking a 200% increase. The wider crypto market also experienced losses, declining 6.98% over the past day. Bitcoin, SOL, XRP, and DOGE followed similar downward patterns.
The market has fallen 20% in the last 30 days. Within several hours during the crash, an estimated $200 billion in crypto market value was wiped out.
Fusaka Upgrade Goes Live
On December 3, ethereum activated its Fusaka upgrade. This marks the second major network upgrade of 2025.
1/ The Fusaka upgrade is coming December 3rd.
Ethereum is securely scaling.
Are you ready to support the changes?
Here’s what developers across the ecosystem need to do to prepare
pic.twitter.com/aHArhmJWnX
— Ethereum (@ethereum) December 1, 2025
The upgrade aligns executed and consensus-layer changes. It enhances Ethereum’s ability to handle more LAYER 2 transactions, improving the network’s overall scale.
BitMine Immersion Technologies increased its Ethereum holdings by 96,798 ETH during the market downturn. The firm continued accumulating despite the recent crash, going against the trend of most other digital asset companies reducing their exposure.
It seems that Tom Lee(@fundstrat)'s #Bitmine just bought another 7,080 $ETH($19.8M) 2 hours ago.https://t.co/yZbTCFm9GT pic.twitter.com/JHb3WYDa0a
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) December 2, 2025
Technical Analysis Shows Bearish Momentum
The latest ethereum price traded at $2,738. The MACD indicator shows negative divergence, pointing to a potential continuation of the downward trend.
$ETH vs. Silver is still trading below its 2017 ATH.
We’re also sitting on a key level that has served as major support and resistance in previous cycles.
Price exploded from this zone earlier in the current cycle. pic.twitter.com/pqyJrpA70r
— Crypto Rover (@cryptorover) December 2, 2025
The MACD histogram displays red bars, indicating persistent bearish sentiment. The Relative Strength Index sits at 32, placing it in DEEP oversold territory.
This RSI level suggests Ethereum is facing heavy selling pressure. However, it also indicates a possible reversal could occur.
The $2,700 and $2,500 zones represent crucial support levels. If Ethereum fails to hold these levels, the bearish trend could intensify.
A recovery from these support levels could push the price back toward $2,900 and $3,000. A move above $2,900 WOULD signal a potential bullish reversal, while a drop below $2,500 could lead to further losses.
Despite the liquidations, derivatives investors remain active. The Ethereum Open Interest increased by $654 million following the dip, representing a 4.3% rise.
The Open Interest initially dropped alongside the price decline as long positions closed. As the bearish momentum slowed and price movement stabilized, speculators began opening fresh positions.
This high level of Open Interest typically leads to increased volatility. A large amount of leverage in the sector means sharp price swings can trigger cascading liquidations, which intensify the original price movement.
