Strong start fades as macro pressures dominate
Ether began 2026 on a relatively constructive footing as optimism surrounding Ethereum’s technological roadmap and expectations of increasing institutional adoption initially helped support prices.
In late January the fourth quarter of 2025 sell-off resumed with the successful implementation of the Pectra upgrade, which improved validator efficiency, wallet functionality and network scalability, not being able to stem the flow of sellers.
This year’s swift descent in the price of Ether from its mid-January near $3,400 peak unfolded despite the Pectra upgrade reinforcing Ethereum’s position as the leading smart-contract blockchain and it fuelling expectations that institutional tokenisation projects would increasingly rely on Ethereum infrastructure.
The upgrade did help ETH stabilise between April and early May in the $2,200-to-$2,400 region as improving risk appetite and steady ETF inflows supported the broader cryptocurrency market.
However, the recovery proved short-lived.
Unlike the Nasdaq 100, which continued to benefit from investor enthusiasm surrounding artificial intelligence, Ether struggled to overcome key technical resistance before profit-taking accelerated.
Selling intensified throughout the second half of May before developing into a broad-based liquidation across digital assets during June.
By the beginning of the third quarter, Ether had fallen below $1,600 after briefly touching its lowest level since April 2025 at $1,505.59, leaving it down by over 50% from its late-2025 highs.