The retail market is panicking, and they have written off an Ethereum recovery as the coin slides below $1,800, an important support level. However, historical data shows that every single time the crowds panic and lose hope, Ethereum has recovered, as the markets always go against the retailers.
ETH gets weakers against Bitcoin
Since August 2025, the ETH/BTC pair has been crashing, making lower highs and lower lows. Ethereum has been weakening against Bitcoin, indicating that capital has been flowing into BTC at a faster pace than ETH. This trend has persisted for several months, reinforcing Bitcoin’s dominance over the broader crypto market.
Despite the ETH/BTC pair testing this downtrend line several times, it has not been able to break and rise above this level. After the recent sell-off, ETH has weakened even more against the flagship crypto Bitcoin.
ETH traders lose hope after price crashed below $1,800
As shown in the chart above, the recent sell-off dragged the ETH/USDT pair below the psychological support level at $1,800. Once ETH lost this support, the retail market lost all hope of ETH recovering from the dire straits.
The positive-to-negative ratio commentary drops to yearly lows
According to Santiment, an on-chain social metrics tool, social media platforms are now filled with bearish narratives. The recent selloff dragged the ETH price from above $2,300 to below $1,800, mainly due to the debate surrounding the ETH Foundation’s direction.
In such adverse conditions, the ratio of positive-to-negative commentary is dropping to one of its lowest levels of the year, indicating that bearish narratives are now dominating social media discussions.
History shows ETH made turnovers when retail hit extreme pessimism
However, historical data suggests that periods of extreme pessimism have often coincided with important turning points for Ethereum. When retail investors become overwhelmingly bearish, they may have already exhausted much of the selling pressure, leaving fewer participants willing to sell at lower prices. As a result, even a modest increase in demand can trigger a sharp recovery.
This phenomenon is commonly referred to as a contrarian indicator, where the crowd’s consensus view ultimately proves incorrect. Throughout previous market cycles, Ethereum has frequently staged significant rebounds after sentiment reached exceptionally low levels.
As fear spreads and confidence deteriorates, long-term investors and institutional participants often begin accumulating positions, taking advantage of discounted prices while retail traders remain on the sidelines.
Although the retailers are panicking, the long-term holders need not panic. For instance, when the broader price action is considered, ETH is still maintaining its bullish shape.
ETH edges mighty close to losing broader bullish structure
Since 2021, the coin has been making higher lows, and it still continues to move along the line, and never once has the price fallen below this level. Priced at $1,650, ETH is not so far away from losing this long term bullish structure. If the price crashes below $1,550, then the bullish structure of ETH would be dismantled.
