Ethereum is showing signs of losing momentum as its price hovers near a critical support level, weighed down by slowing on-chain activity and softening investor confidence. At press time, ETH was trading around $3,448, reflecting a nearly 3% drop in 24 hours. The asset is now down 16% over the last month and sits 30% below its all-time high.

Recent market data points to waning interest from traders. Ethereum’s 24-hour trading volume has fallen by 12%, while derivatives volume declined by 7.5% to $74.95 billion. At the same time, open interest dropped by 3.4% to $38.74 billion, suggesting that traders are becoming more hesitant to open new positions following recent volatility.

DeFi Metrics Signal a Slowdown

A closer look at Ethereum’s on-chain data reveals a consistent cooling trend. According to DeFiLlama, monthly volume on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) fell from $128 billion in August to $99 billion in October. The Total Value Locked (TVL) in the ecosystem has also decreased, dropping from a high of $85 billion in late October to its current level of $75 billion. This decline in liquidity and trading activity indicates that investors are exercising greater caution, leading to lower participation across Decentralized Finance (DeFi) platforms.

Institutional Sentiment Cools as ETFs See Outflows

The pressure on Ethereum is also coming from the institutional side. Data from SoSoValue revealed that U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs experienced outflows of $107.39 million on November 11. In stark contrast, Bitcoin ETFs attracted $532 million in new investments on the same day, highlighting a clear preference for Bitcoin among institutional players. Despite this trend, some long-term investors remain optimistic, with companies like BitMine continuing to add ETH to their corporate treasuries.

Technical Outlook at a Critical Juncture

From a technical standpoint, Ethereum’s chart presents a cautious picture. The MACD indicator remains slightly negative, suggesting that sellers currently have a slight edge. Meanwhile, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 40, indicating neutral to weak momentum. Ethereum is trading near its key support level of $3,300, a price where buyers have historically shown interest. Should the price break below this support, the next significant zone could be between $3,150 and $3,200. On the upside, a decisive move above the resistance area of $3,520 to $3,700 could open the door to a recovery toward the $3,850–$4,000 range.