A short position in ethereum worth more than $100 million is at risk of liquidation as prices rebound.

Cointelegraph reported on Sunday that a related wallet, '0x50b...', holds a short position of about 47,600 ETH. The position was valued at $100.72 million, it said.

Hypurrscan data showed the address used about 23-times cross-margin leverage and had an entry price of $2,094.92. With ethereum trading around $2,115, the unrealised loss was nearing $994,000. It has also incurred about $2,145 in funding costs.

The key point is that the liquidation price is near $2,150. If ethereum rises further, losses on the short could exceed $1 million, and the position could be forcibly closed if the price reaches the liquidation level. Ethereum is currently rebounding from around $2,000, its weekend low.

The large short has also drawn attention because it emerged as key ethereum figures were seeking to calm market anxiety. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin (비탈릭 부테린) wrote in a lengthy post on X, formerly Twitter, that he would reduce the scale of the Ethereum Foundation's ethereum sales. He issued the statement as criticism over the foundation's direction grew after a series of researcher departures.

Buterin also mentioned that the foundation is choosing sustainability over scalability. That means reducing spending, narrowing the scope of work and not acting like ethereum's central command. The market has repeatedly criticised the foundation's token sales for potentially weighing on ethereum's price during bear markets.

By Arkham Intelligence's tally, the Ethereum Foundation sold about 20,000 ETH in 2026 and secured more than $45 million. It also holds about 103,000 ETH as liquid treasury assets and has additionally staked 70,000 ETH.

Still, separate from the foundation's message, institutional investor sentiment has weakened. Some large holders reduced their ethereum exposure in 2026. Harvard Management Company is reported to have closed an $87 million spot ethereum exchange-traded fund position in a single quarter, and Goldman Sachs has also cut its spot ethereum ETF holdings by about 70 percent.

Outflows also continued from spot ethereum ETFs. Net outflows in May exceeded $295 million, and cumulative outflows in 2026 topped $945 million. David Hoffman (데이비드 호프먼), co-founder of Bankless and seen as a long-term ethereum supporter, also said he sold all of his personal ETH holdings, adding to the symbolism of weakened sentiment.

Even so, some market participants are maintaining a long-term outlook. A cryptocurrency analyst named Tanaka (타나카) views ethereum as a long-term buy, based on an assessment that its on-chain economic foundation remains difficult for rival chains to match.

According to Token Terminal, ethereum still underpins about $43 billion in DeFi liquidity, more than $165 billion in stablecoins, and about 55 percent of tokenised assets across public blockchains. In the short term, whether the whale short position is liquidated around $2,150 is expected to be a variable for the market. Over the medium term, the foundation's pledge to cut sales and the trend of institutional outflows are also expected to act as variables at the same time.

Some of my perspective on where the @ethereumfndn is going. First of all, this is only my own view. The board is not just me, and I have no extra special powers on the board that the other board members do not. @aerugoettinea is the one executing much of this transition. My…