Ethereum has slipped into the $2,500 range, exposing $1.35 billion worth of leveraged long positions to liquidation risk.

As of Oct. 7, blockchain outlet CryptoSlate estimated long positions with liquidation prices set below the current price at about $1.35 billion. That is larger than short positions worth about $999.78 million with liquidation prices set above the current price.

On Hyperliquid, about $112.83 million worth of Ethereum long positions are at risk of liquidation in this price range. When Ethereum traded at $2,605.65, the price gap to the zone was about 3.6 percent, narrowing sharply from 7.4 percent a day earlier.

Liquidations have already accelerated. Ethereum fell 1.35 percent over the past 24 hours to as low as $2,570, dropping below $2,700. Over the same period, Ethereum position liquidations totalled $233.36 million, with about 95 percent, or $221.87 million, from long positions.

Liquidations were concentrated over the past 12 hours. Total liquidations in that period were about $226.22 million, with long positions accounting for $216.11 million. On Binance, a $26.64 million ETHUSDC position was forcibly liquidated, the largest single liquidation in the crypto market during that period.

Positions shown on a liquidation map are not necessarily liquidated all at once at a specific price. A liquidation map shows price zones where liquidation risk for leveraged positions increases as prices move. This does not mean the full $1.35 billion would be liquidated immediately at around $2,500, and the key question is whether further declines lead to cascading liquidations across multiple price levels.

Long-side positioning remains even after large liquidations. CoinGlass data showed the long-to-short ratio for Binance ETH/USDT accounts at 3.32, and OKX at 2.13. Binance large whales also had high long exposure, at 2.34 by account and 1.62 by position. These figures alone cannot determine the dollar size of overall positions, but they show many traders are still betting on a rise.

Funding rates, however, turned negative. Ethereum's open-interest-weighted funding rate was -0.0041 percent, and the volume-weighted funding rate was -0.0034 percent. This suggests stronger demand for short positions.

Spot demand also weakened. Spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw net outflows of about $202 million on Oct. 6. It was the biggest daily outflow since Sept. 16 and roughly matched the cumulative outflows of about $206 million over the prior five trading days. Net outflows have now continued for six straight trading days, with about $408 million leaving over the period.

SoSoValue said cumulative net inflows into spot Ethereum ETFs since launch still total $13.55 billion. With the pace of outflows accelerating, whether new money flows in at lower prices or existing investors continue to withdraw has emerged as a key factor for short-term supply and demand.

Market attention is expected to focus on defending the $2,500 level and on whether ETF flows reverse. If prices enter key liquidation zones, forced selling could drive further declines and trigger more liquidations.