The Ethereum (ETH 5.89%) cryptocurrency fell 11.3% since last Friday's closing bell, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. This drop, recorded at 12:20 p.m. ET on Sept. 26, also dropped other Ethereum-based assets such as the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA 4.09%) exchange-traded fund (ETF) and the Wrapped Ethereum (WETH 5.81%) ERC-20 token by an identical amount.
This week's price drops on Ethereum and its tightly related alternatives came in two parts: a wave of profit-taking at the end of last weekend, followed by a discouraging inflation report on Thursday.
As a reminder, the iShares Ethereum ETF reflects Ethereum's price moves by design, and Wrapped Ethereum is just a parcel of Ethereum coins wrapped in a smart contract (also on the Ethereum blockchain) for easy programmatic access. These assets will always stay close to the underlying Ethereum chart, which is why the whole trio is down by identical amounts this week.
Two punches knocked Ethereum down this week
Ethereum is a rather volatile cryptocurrency, even in comparison to other names in digital assets. As such, it's sensitive to macroeconomic trends.
This week's report of August's inflation rates showed higher price increases than expected, and may result in a tighter fiscal policy in upcoming months. That could divert the Federal Reserve from the interest rate cuts it recently signaled, which in turn would be bad news for volatile investments -- such as Ethereum and friends.
When interest rates on new debt are high, institutional investors turn away from risky bets. And institutional interest has been a leading catalyst for Ethereum's growth since the iShares fund and other Ether-based ETFs were launched in the summer of 2024.
It's a macroeconomic domino effect, with very real impacts on the crypto sector.
Image source: Getty Images.
Ethereum still looks pretty good when you zoom out
That's not the end of Ethereum as we know it, though. Despite recent price corrections, this cryptocurrency has nearly doubled in six months, and it trades 174% above April's 52-week lows.
Ethereum bulls could see this price drop as a buying opportunity. I have seen some early signs of Web3 apps reaching large user groups (though the users may not realize there's any crypto tech involved), likely setting the stage for widespread Ethereum use in 2026 and beyond.
