Ethereum profitability has deteriorated sharply as the share of supply held in profit fell below 60% following the network's recent drop under $3,000. Both retail investor gains and institutional participation have weakened simultaneously during December's sustained price pressure.
What Happened: Supply Profitability
On-chain data from Glassnode shows that the percentage of ETH supply in profit dropped below 60% after the token failed to hold above $3,000, down from more than 70% earlier this month. Ethereum briefly reclaimed the $3,000 level on Dec. 22, pushing the profitability metric to 63%, but surrendered those gains within hours.
The decline reflects losses extending beyond recent buyers to investors who accumulated tokens at the start of December.
This marks one of the clearest signals of network stress as price action has eroded gains across a broader holder base.
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Why It Matters: Institutional Withdrawal
The 30-day moving average of net flows into US Spot Ethereum ETFs has remained negative since early November, indicating sustained institutional disengagement. This persistence of outflows contrasts with the inflows that supported Ethereum's push toward new highs in August, removing a key source of incremental buying pressure that previously helped absorb sell-side activity.
On-chain tracking service Lookonchain recently identified selling activity from a wallet that swapped 4,619 ETH valued at approximately $13.42 million into Bitcoin Cash over two weeks after nearly nine years of inactivity, though the wallet's ownership remains disputed.
Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, offloaded 1,871 ETH worth about $5.53 million in the past week, according to the same tracking service.
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