Money has flowed out of Ethereum spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for 5 straight trading sessions, while the price of Ethereum (ETH) holds around $2,700. Selling pressure also grew in the derivatives market, but prices are holding up.

On Oct. 6, blockchain media outlet CryptoSlate reported that Ethereum spot ETFs posted a net outflow of $50.76 million on Oct. 5.

That extended net outflows to 5 consecutive trading sessions since Sept. 29. Total outflows over that period reached $205.88 million, reducing cumulative net inflows to about $13.75 billion. The prior session on Sept. 28 saw a net inflow of $17.10 million, but flows reversed afterward.

On-chain data showed signals suggesting movement of long-held supply. On-chain analytics firm Santiment said Ethereum's Age Consumed indicator surged to 580 million token-days on Sept. 30. That was about 9 times the September weekday average and the highest since June 2. The indicator is calculated by multiplying the amount of coins moved by their holding period, and it rises when large amounts of long-dormant supply move.

Even so, it is hard to conclude that this means a full-scale increase in selling by long-term holders. ETH held on exchanges rose by about 18,000 ETH on Sept. 30 and then fell by about 21,000 ETH the next day. Considering total exchange holdings of about 5.9 million ETH, the size of the changes was limited.

In derivatives markets, the leverage ratio fell while selling dominance became clear. CryptoQuant said Ethereum's estimated leverage ratio dropped to 0.66, the lowest in the past 7 months. That means the size of derivatives open interest fell relative to ETH held on exchanges. By exchange, Binance recorded about 0.68 and OKX about 0.64.

CryptoQuant analyst Arab Chain said the decline in the leverage ratio suggests weaker preference for excessive leveraged positions. He said the risk of forced liquidations could also ease. Still, Binance's ETH open interest rose from about $2.3 billion on Aug. 6 to around $3.3 billion recently, meaning the overall position size remains large.

Selling pressure also showed up in taker volume. Binance ETH cumulative net taker volume flipped from $1.94 billion on Aug. 21 to minus $1.36 billion on Oct. 5. That was a $3.3 billion drop and the lowest level since Aug. 6. It means market sells have become more dominant than market buys.

Even so, the ETH price stayed about 44 percent higher than on Aug. 6. While cumulative net taker volume made lower lows, the low point of open interest generally rose. Selling strengthened, but sizable derivatives positions remain, and prices are holding onto earlier gains.

This suggests buying demand may be absorbing selling. Still, more confirmation is needed on whether actual spot demand supports prices. If the funding rate continues to stay negative but prices hold, the cost of carrying short positions could rise, generating buyback demand to close positions.

Ultimately, with ETF outflows and derivatives selling pressure continuing, the key question is how long demand supporting prices will persist. The net outflow trend for ETFs, changes in exchange holdings and price moves around the $2,700 level are cited as major indicators for gauging the next direction.

Long-dormant $ETH moved on Sep 30 at a scale we haven’t seen since early June. Exchange balances hardly budged. Age consumed hit 580M token-days on Sep 30, about 9x its September weekday average and the highest since Jun 2. Exchange supply rose ~18K ETH that day and fell ~21K the next, against roughly 5.9M held on exchanges. On Jun 2, the last bigger day, balances jumped more than 140K. What we can’t say yet is who moved it. Past spikes this size have lined up with wallet reshuffles, not just holders cashing out. Old coins woke up. Exchange balances did not. Explore ETH age consumed in Sanbase: https://t.co/ngq1cgTI3B