ETH funding rate turns negative, but US macro conditions mute the buy signal
04.02.2026
13776
Ether dropped 28% in a week to $2,110 as investors cut risk and markets wiped out leveraged traders. Spot ETH ETF outflows reached $447 million as Ethereum network activity fell by 47%.
ETH’s Negative Funding Rates May Not Be A Buy Signal This Time
ETH just got wrecked — down 28% in a week to $2,110. That’s not just a dip, that’s a full-blown correction. While negative funding rates usually scream “BUY THE DIP,” this time macro headwinds are muting the signal hard.
- • Ether dropped 28% in a week to $2,110 as investors cut risk and markets wiped out leveraged traders.
- • Spot ETH ETF outflows reached $447 million as Ethereum network activity fell by 47%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq also fell 1.4% as investors fled to cash and short-term government bonds. Sentiment turned sour after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang denied plans to invest $100 billion in OpenAI. Meanwhile, gold prices climbed 6% and silver gained 9% — classic signs of recession anxiety.
ETH perpetual futures annualized funding rate turned negative on Tuesday. Translation: shorts are paying fees to maintain positions because longs have completely lost confidence. This is extreme fear territory.
ETH has underperformed the broader crypto market by 10% over the last 30 days. While Bitcoin dropped 17%, BNB fell 14%, and TRX declined 4%, ETH’s slide forced the liquidation of over $2 billion in leveraged bullish futures.
Ether pressured as exchange-traded funds outflows signal cooling demand
$447 million in net outflows from US-listed Ethereum spot ETFs over five days. Institutional demand is cooling despite continued accumulation from firms like Bitmine Immersion, Sharplink, and The Ether Machine. Traders are eyeing the $14.4 billion held in aggregate Ethereum ETFs as potential sell pressure.
As interest in decentralized applications (dApps) waned, appetite for ETH diminished significantly. Trading volumes on Ethereum DEXs reached $52.8 billion in January — a sharp 47% drop from $98.9 billion in October 2025. Less activity means less network burn, which reduces incentives for holders.
Addresses linked to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin sold approximately $2.3 million in ETH after earmarking $45 million for donations toward privacy technologies, open hardware, and secure software. Buterin said 16,384 ETH from his personal holdings will be gradually deployed over coming years.
Bottom line: The current lack of demand for bullish ETH perpetual futures shouldn’t be viewed as a reversal signal. Onchain metrics continue to weaken, and macro uncertainty is keeping sentiment cautious.
Got a topic? Write to ATLA WIRE on Telegram:t.me/atla_community
