Ether traded below $3,100 on Sunday during a broader pullback in digital assets. The token was recently near $3,066 at 9:36 p.m. UTC, down 3.4% over the past 24 hours. It briefly fell through the $3,100 level on Bitstamp at about 4 p.m. UTC, marking its first break beneath that threshold since Nov. 4, based on data from TradingView.
Timothy Peterson, an investment manager and digital asset researcher at Cane Island Alternative Advisors, said spot ether ETFs posted net outflows in four of the past five weeks, totaling roughly 7% of the cost-basis capital invested in the products. He said bitcoin ETFs saw about 4% withdrawn over the same period, a smaller share that he believes indicates investors currently view ether as the riskier asset.
Cost-basis capital represents the total amount of money originally committed to an ETF, separate from gains or losses accumulated after purchase. The measure reflects how much foundational capital long-term participants have contributed to a fund. When redemptions rise as a share of this original investment base, analysts interpret it as an erosion of conviction among established holders rather than short-term positioning changes.
Because the metric focuses on investors’ initial commitments, it can provide a clearer read on sentiment than headline inflow and outflow data, which can be affected by week-to-week volatility.
Traders will now be watching whether ether’s ETF outflows ease or continue in the coming weeks, and how the token trades around key levels after Sunday’s move below $3,100. Future flow data and price action are likely to show whether the sentiment gap Peterson highlighted between ether and bitcoin persists.
