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Ethereum Could Record Three Consecutive Losing Quarters for the First Time
Ethereum is approaching a situation it has never experienced before. Throughout its trading history, $ETH has never closed three consecutive quarters in negative territory. The market is now moving dangerously close to that scenario.
According to CoinGlass data, Ethereum finished the fourth quarter of 2025 in the red. The first quarter of 2026 also turned out weak, and attention is now focused on the current quarter. So far, however, $ETH remains up by more than 11%, although that may still be insufficient to reverse the broader trend.
A similar period of weakness was seen in 2022. At that time, Bitcoin went through a series of losing quarters during the year, while Ethereum managed to break the negative streak by gaining around 24% in the third quarter. However, it returned to negative territory in the fourth quarter with a decline of roughly 10%.
Since then, $ETH has only experienced a few instances of two consecutive negative quarters, but never three in a row.
Ethereum Remains Under Pressure
At the moment, conditions do not appear favorable for $ETH. Over the past year, Ethereum has lost more than 35% against Bitcoin. Since the beginning of this year alone, the decline has already exceeded 21%.
Bitcoin itself is not posting major gains either — it remains down around 6% — but its market dominance continues to hold above 60%.
Charts show Ethereum gradually losing strength and struggling to reclaim previous levels. After reaching a local peak, the price reversed lower and is once again testing zones that previously acted as support. A similar pattern appeared in 2024, when the market entered a sharp correction phase.
If current pressure persists, some analysts believe $ETH could lose another 40% relative to Bitcoin.
Ethereum quarterly returns (%). Source: CoinGlass.
Exchange data has also intensified discussions about potential selling pressure. According to CryptoQuant, Ethereum reserves on Binance increased to 3.62 million $ETH. That represents approximately 24.6% of all Ether currently held on exchanges.
Such increases are often interpreted as a signal that part of the market may be preparing to sell and move coins into circulation. Analysts also noted a slight increase in open interest for $ETH over the past 24 hours.
Over the last week, Ethereum has declined by roughly 2%, although it remains up around 3.3% over the past month. At the time of writing, $ETH is trading near $2,337.
Bitcoin, meanwhile, appears more stable. It has gained more than 2% over the past week and nearly 12% over the last month. At publication time, $BTC was trading around $81,920.
Ethereum Is Still Considered a Candidate for a “Crypto Spring”
Not all market participants believe $ETH remains under severe pressure. Following recent sales by the Ethereum Foundation, discussions about a potential large-scale selloff resurfaced, although many investors consider the market reaction overly emotional.
The Ethereum Foundation does periodically sell $ETH to cover operational expenses, including grants, salaries, and development funding. Reports also surfaced about approximately $49.6 million worth of ETH being withdrawn from staking, triggering another wave of speculation. However, this alone does not confirm the beginning of large-scale liquidation.
Institutional demand also remains intact. BitMine Immersion Technologies, despite slowing its pace of purchases, continues accumulating $ETH and remains the largest corporate holder of Ethereum.
Last week, the company purchased an additional 26,659 $ETH. As a result, its holdings now exceed 5.2 million $ETH, representing around 4.3% of the total supply. Most of those assets have already been staked through the MAVAN platform.
Company chairman Tom Lee stated that the slower pace of accumulation was intentional after periods during which BitMine bought more than 100,000 $ETH per week. At that pace, the company could have approached 5% of Ethereum’s total supply by mid-summer.
Lee also highlighted two major long-term growth drivers for Ethereum: Wall Street tokenization and the development of AI agents. According to him, if $ETH closes May 2026 above $2,100, it would mark a third consecutive month of gains and could confirm the beginning of a “crypto spring.”
ETF inflows are also providing additional support. Over the past week, crypto investment funds recorded approximately $857.9 million in inflows. Bitcoin ETFs attracted more than $622 million, while Ethereum ETFs added over $70 million.
Market attention is now increasingly focused on whale activity and overall liquidity conditions. During periods of heightened uncertainty, these factors often determine short-term price direction. If selling pressure gradually weakens, $ETH may have an opportunity to stabilize within the current range.
Traders are also closely watching Ethereum’s correlation with Bitcoin. In recent months, $ETH has often reacted to $BTC movements with a delay, increasing volatility during sharp market reversals. This makes the coming weeks particularly important for understanding whether Ethereum can hold current levels or continue lagging behind the broader market.
