Ethereum slid nearly 5% over the past 24 hours, retracing recent gains and dipping back toward $2,000.
The decline follows a sharp rise in Open Interest-a measure of active derivatives positions-indicating increased leverage ahead of the pullback. According to CryptoQuant analyst Maartunn, such spikes have historically coincided with short-term price peaks about 75% of the time.
As prices dropped Thursday, more than $94 million in long positions were liquidated, making ETH the hardest-hit major cryptocurrency in terms of forced exits.