Ethereum failed to clear resistance at $2,400, prompting warnings it could slide below $2,000. Cointelegraph reported that as prices corrected, network activity, staking flows and U.S.-linked selling indicators worsened at the same time. On-chain transactions, active addresses and fees fell, while Ethereum-based DEX volumes and total value locked declined. Unstaking queues surged, though staking entry demand remained. U.S. spot ETFs posted net outflows, and derivatives data pointed to selling dominance.

Bitcoin weakened in late April, but May seasonality and continued inflows into U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs are raising the prospect of further gains. Data since 2013 show bitcoin rose in May in 7 of the past 13 years, with an average return of about 8 percent. Still, higher U.S. Treasury yields and geopolitical risks are weighing on risk assets, and analysts see a higher chance of range-bound trading without a liquidity catalyst.