Ethereum Slides Near $1,630 as DAI Vaults Hold $259M and NFT Floors Drop 28%
Ethereum trades around $1,631 and remains under a downtrend, with RSI near 21 indicating deep oversold conditions. Spot ETH ETFs are also weighing on sentiment: a 17-session outflow streak pulled more than $401M in May. On the NFT side, Ethereum-linked blue-chip collections are slipping sharply; NFT floors are down about 28% over the past month, with CryptoPunks, BAYC, and Pudgy Penguins all seeing major floor compression.
In DeFi, a wallet associated with Joe Lubin moved 110,000 ETH (~$170.8M) across three transactions to add collateral into Sky (formerly MakerDAO) vaults. On-chain data shows the vaults hold 412,430 WETH and support $259.05M in DAI debt, with liquidation thresholds substantially below current levels (position ~33% above the nearest threshold). Analysts describe the activity as defensive collateral management, not a clear prelude to selling.
Separately, PlanB highlights Ethereum’s long-running relative underperformance: the ETH/BTC ratio is back near 0.026 (similar to March 2016 levels). This revives debate around the “flippening” thesis as capital rotates toward Bitcoin spot exposure and competing tech narratives.
Bearish
The article points to multiple concurrent bearish signals for Ethereum. First, price action is weak: the trend is described as down and RSI is extremely low, which can produce bounces, but does not by itself confirm a reversal. Second, institutional demand appears to be fading—spot ETH ETFs are seeing persistent, sizable outflows (over $401M in May). That combination often limits rallies because spot buyers stay on the sidelines.
Third, Ethereum-linked NFTs are collapsing in floor value (~28% drop), which typically reflects broader risk-off behavior and reduces speculative willingness to hold ETH-linked assets.
On the other hand, the DeFi collateral top-up into Sky/MakerDAO vaults (adding 110k ETH and maintaining ~$259M DAI debt) is described as defensive collateral management. That can reduce immediate liquidation fear and may provide short-term psychological support. Still, it does not directly offset ETF outflows or the ETH/BTC relative weakness.
Historically, when ETH faces ETF outflows alongside deteriorating risk appetite in NFTs and continued underperformance versus BTC, rebounds tend to be tactical (short-term mean reversion) rather than durable trend changes, unless ETH regains key resistance levels and ETH/BTC stabilizes. Long-term, the market will likely keep demanding clearer signs of sustained institutional inflows and renewed on-chain/NFT activity before shifting back to a bullish regime.