After a disappointing performance in February, Ethereum price has seen some semblance of relief over the past two weeks. With market conditions stabilizing, the “king of altcoins” has managed to stay around the psychological level of $2,000.
Unsurprisingly, this has been enough to raise hopes in silent investors about the future of the Ether token; However, one market analyst has revealed reasons to believe that Ethereum buyers may want to sit on their hands, at least in the meantime.
Multiple indicators align to reflect high market stress
In a recent post on social media platform highlighted data from three metrics, showing that the Ethereum market is starting to see an increase in pressure. According to the analyst, if current conditions persist, a capitulation phase could be on the horizon for the second-largest cryptocurrency.
The market expert began his analysis with the net unrealized gain/loss (NUPL) metric, which measures investors’ overall gain or loss by comparing the current market value of ETH to the price at which the coins last moved on-chain. Boris shared in his post that NUPL is currently at a negative level, suggesting that Ethereum investors may be enduring unrealized losses.
Ethereum May Be Approaching a Major Capitulation Zone
Several key on-chain signals are starting to align:
• NUPL: Negative → Investors maintain unrealized losses
• Price: Below realized price (~$2,200) → Market still under pressure
• Earnings days: Earnings of 1.34K days… pic.twitter.com/rHNw1Pn0i8—Boris. (@Fundingvest) March 12, 2026
Another important metric cited was the realized price metric, which represents the average price at which all circulating coins last moved on-chain. Boris noted in his tweet that the altcoin is currently trading below its realized price of $2,200.
When the market falls below this level, it indicates that the average Ethereum investor is holding on to losses. This on-chain signal therefore translates as a level of pressure that Ethereum investors are feeling as the market price continues to fluctuate below the realized price.
Source: @Fundingvest on X
Additionally, Boris mentioned the metric of the number of days spent turning a profit in his analysis, saying that the Ethereum network recently ended an impressive streak of 1,340 days, during which the majority of Ether tokens in circulation remained profitable.
The analyst explained that this is usually a sign that a market cycle has ended, a conjecture that is consistent with historical events and tends to appear near the lows of bear markets.
Despite the current conditions, Boris warned that NUPL still has to move further into the capitulation zone between –0.5 and –1 for a bottom to form. If Ethereum price were to experience another round of selling, the metric could enter the capitulation zone, where several investors could be forced to give up their positions, an event that would most likely be exploited by long-term traders (diamond hands).
Ethereum price at a glance
At the time of writing, the price of Ethereum is around $2,092, reflecting a drop of over 1% from the previous day.
The price of ETH on the daily timeframe | Source: ETHUSDT chart on TradingView
Featured image of DALL-E, TradingView chart
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