Institutions Unload ETH at a Loss: "Have Fun Staying Poor" Costs FG Nexus $86.8M 🪦

Ethereum [ETH] was trading near $1,591 at press time, up 0.85% on the daily chart, with the asset sliding between the $1,500 and $1,600 range amid persistent market weakness. Year-to-date, ETH is down 36%, and the latest on-chain data shows high-net-worth holders are increasingly capitulating at a loss.

Onchain Lens reported that FG Nexus sold an additional 3,375 ETH worth $5.34 million. FG Nexus originally acquired 50,770 ETH for $196 million and has now sold 41,675 ETH for $94.51 million, bringing its total realized loss to more than $86.8 million. Institutional selling at a loss during a sustained downtrend has historically coincided with broader expectations of further downside among large holders.

The pattern extends beyond FG Nexus. U.S. institutional appetite for ETH has remained muted, with the Coinbase Premium Index sitting in negative territory for 53 consecutive days. A similarly long stretch was last recorded between January and February, when Ethereum fell from $3,000 to $1,800.

Retail and broader market flows have also tilted toward selling. Ethereum's Exchange Netflow has stayed positive for two consecutive days, with 11.6k ETH flowing into exchanges at press time, indicating more deposits than withdrawals. Technically, ETH's daily Relative Strength Index (RSI) sits at 35, deep in bearish territory and approaching oversold conditions, signaling that bears remain in control of the chart. Should the current structure persist, ETH risks losing the $1,500 support and dropping toward $1,400, while the only near-term positive setup remains sideways trading between $1,500 and $1,700.