Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of more than $189.3 billion as of Tuesday, is poised to make history, but not the kind that’s going to be particularly pleasantly memorable. The digital asset is on the brink of recording its first-ever 3rd consecutive quarter in the red.
ETH set to make unenviable record
According to the following chart by Coinglass – which tracks ETH’s price performance across quarters – the cryptocurrency is headed toward its 3rd red quarter of 2026. In Q1 2026, ETH saw a price decline of 29.26 percent, while it saw its price erode by 24.97 percent in Q2 2026.
As can be seen in the chart, there have only been 4 previous instances of ETH recording 2 consecutive red quarters – Q3, Q4 in 2018 and 2019, Q1, Q2 in 2022, and Q2, Q3 in 2024.q
While returns in the following quarter in 2018 and 2019 were modest, price appreciation in 2022 and 2024 returned 24 percent and 28 percent. As of Tuesday, ETH is trading around $1,570, down 3.6 percent in the past 24 hours with a market cap of roughly $189 billion.
Meanwhile, crypto analyst Alaoui Capital shared their thoughts on ETH’s recent price action, saying that the digital asset tends to create fake breakouts to the upside, pull investors in, only to reverse course to the downside.
The analyst added that they expect ETH to initiate one final move down in the range of $1,300 to $1,500 before it resumes its bullish trajectory.
ETH ETFs continue to see capital exodus
Akin to ETH’s bearish price action, U.S.-based spot ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are seeing consistent capital outflows. According to data from SoSoValue, ETH ETFs have now seen 8 consecutive weeks of net capital outflows.
The last time spot ETH ETFs saw net capital inflow was back during the week of May 8. Among the products, Nasdaq-listed BlackRock’s ETHA ETF currently holds net assets worth $4.4 billion, with Grayscale’s ETH and ETHA ETFs trailing, with $1.39, and $1.26 billion in net assets, respectively.
In contrast, institutional interest in ETH remains steadfast. On Monday, Ethereum treasury firm Bitmine disclosed that it had added another 27,084 ETH to its balance sheet, inching closer to its ambitious target of holding 5 percent of the digital asset’s circulating supply.
