TLDR
- ETH is trading near $2,440, holding inside its consolidation range after the Fed’s 25 basis point rate hike.
- $2,500 remains the key resistance level, while $2,350 to $2,400 acts as the range floor.
- Ethereum ETFs saw $224.11 million in outflows on September 16, but seven-session outflows are far milder than Bitcoin’s.
- Exchange reserves have fallen from over 21 million ETH to roughly 14.6 million ETH, tightening available supply.
- Stablecoin liquidity on Ethereum is recovering, with USDC closing the gap on USDT’s market share.
Ethereum is trading near $2,440 after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points on September 16. The move pushed the federal funds rate to a range of 3.75% to 4.00%.
Despite the rate hike, ETH has stayed inside the same consolidation range it has held since late August. That range sits roughly between $2,350 and $2,600.
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said the economy remains strong and financial conditions are not clearly restrictive. That leaves room for further rate increases if inflation stays elevated.
Bitcoin has reacted more sharply to the news. It is testing support near $75,000, a level well below its recent recovery zone.
Ethereum’s chart looks steadier by comparison. The daily RSI sits near 54, which is a neutral reading rather than an oversold or overbought one.
Ethereum ETF Flows Stay Milder Than Bitcoin’s
Spot Ethereum ETFs recorded $224.11 million in net outflows on September 16, following $141.47 million in outflows the day before.
Even so, the seven trading sessions from September 8 through September 16 added up to only $47.45 million in total outflows. Strong inflow days during that stretch offset some of the later withdrawals.
Bitcoin ETFs lost close to $1.05 billion over the same seven sessions. That gap suggests institutional selling has hit Ethereum funds less hard than Bitcoin funds this month.
Exchange reserve data adds another piece to the picture. CryptoQuant figures show ETH held on exchanges has dropped from more than 21 million coins in early 2025 to about 14.6 million now.
Stablecoin Liquidity on Ethereum Is Shifting
Ethereum also holds the largest stablecoin liquidity base among layer-1 networks, according to DeFiLlama. It accounts for roughly 50% of the $300 billion stablecoin market.
Analyst Leon Waidmann pointed to Ethereum’s rising network activity as a sign that liquidity is flowing back into the chain, a trend he tied to the stablecoin market’s recovery after three months of outflows.
Token Terminal data shows Ethereum processed over 203 million transactions in the second quarter, up 68.4% from a year earlier. ETH has gained 52% in the third quarter so far.
USDC is narrowing the gap with USDT on Ethereum. USDT still holds 49.6% of stablecoin share versus USDC’s 31.8%, but that gap has shrunk from 34.2 percentage points in November 2024 to 17.8 points now.
Since November 2024, USDT supply has grown 22% while USDC supply has grown 83%. In 2026, USDT supply fell 15.5% while USDC supply dropped only 2.9%.
For now, ETH needs a daily close above $2,500 to signal the range is breaking higher, with $2,350 marking the first support level to watch on the downside.
