Ethereum's price action has shown a pullback in recent days, reacting to broader market signals, including geopolitical developments. At the time of writing, the asset is trading at $2,621, marking a drop of 3.2% in the last 24 hours. The decline follows recent reports of a federal court reinstating fees from U.S. President Donald Trump, which appears to have triggered a brief wave of risk aversion sentiment in the crypto space. Despite this short-term weakness, the NUPL remains up approximately 45% over the last month, supported by momentum built earlier in the quarter.
This latest pullback coincides with a notable increase in on-chain activity, particularly around Ethereum transfers to exchanges. On May 27, an unusually large transfer of ETH was observed moving to Binance, a trend that caught the attention of a CryptoQuant analyst monitoring potential profit-taking behavior. Concurrently, Bitcoin's Net Unrealized Profit/Loss (NUPL) metric reached a key level historically associated with market cooling phases, suggesting that broader sentiment may be at a turning point.
According to CryptoQuant contributor Amr Taha, Ethereum experienced a substantial net inflow of approximately 385,000 ETH to Binance starting on May 27. This marks one of the largest daily exchange inflows for the asset in recent months. Inflows of exchanges of this magnitude are often interpreted as signs of increased selling intent, particularly when driven by large holders or institutional entities. The movement of such a high volume of ETH to a centralized exchange may reflect preparations for liquidity provisioning or anticipated market volatility.
At the same time, Bitcoin's NUPL, a metric that calculates the difference between unrealized profits and losses relative to market value, approached the threshold of 0.6. Historically, this level has acted as a pivot point where investors begin to realize gains, typically leading to price consolidation or downward pressure. Previous occurrences in early March and late 2024 saw the NUPL at similar levels, followed by pullbacks in the price of Bitcoin, which also influenced the broader market direction.
Taken together, these developments present key indicators that market participants are adjusting their positions amid heightened uncertainty. Taha emphasized that while they are not definitive sell signals, the inflow of 385,000 ETH to Binance and the rise of the NUPL to 0.6 are noteworthy. In previous cycles, similar patterns coincided with phases where investors reduced exposure or rotated assets. As ETH remains close to local highs, the potential for short-term correction or sideways movement cannot be discounted. Taha concluded that investors may consider monitoring exchange inflows alongside the NUPL and other on-chain metrics to better assess changes in sentiment. Additionally, developments in regulatory or macroeconomic narratives, such as U.S. trade, may influence the market.
