Fund withdrawals contrast with whale purchases
Spot Ether ETFs recorded $93.3 million in outflows on Nov. 6, their second consecutive day of withdrawals, according to TokenPost. BlackRock's ETHA accounted for $90.76 million. The five-day total reached $365 million, while The Block reported $837 million in withdrawals over the period from late October through Nov. 5.
The funds entered the selloff with $13.321 billion in assets under management as of Nov. 3 and $12.063 billion in cumulative net inflows since launch, according to SoSoValue data cited by KuCoin. Many investors were already sitting on losses: Bloomberg Intelligence estimated that U.S. spot Ether ETF buyers had paid just under $3,200 per ETH on average, according to cryptoticker.io, well above early-November prices around $2,230.
Meanwhile, U.Today reported that one whale bought 8,773 ETH at $2,245 each, a purchase worth about $19.7 million. The same wallet had acquired 10,376 ETH at $1,626 in June and now holds 23,095 ETH valued at roughly $51 million.
Whale purchases totaled more than $42 million for the week, but an individual buyer has limited influence in a market valued at $273 billion. The Wallstreet Online article estimated that a recovery to $2,500 would require roughly $33 billion in new capital.
Equity losses spill into crypto
The Nov. 5, 2026 selloff followed the Democrats' capture of both chambers of Congress in the Nov. 3 U.S. midterm elections. Investors feared that greater political opposition could slow construction of AI data centers. The Nasdaq Composite lost 5.5%, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, or SOX, dropped 12% in its worst session since March 2020.
Bitcoin slipped below $76,000 on Nov. 5, reaching a seven-week low. U.S. spot crypto ETFs collectively posted more than $1.1 billion in net outflows for the week, according to The Block.
Ether fell to $2,239 on Nov. 6, an 8.28% decline from the previous day. More than $210 million in leveraged Ethereum positions were liquidated in a single day, with longs accounting for 89% of the total. The largest liquidation was a $10.94 million position on Binance.
Strong jobs data adds rate pressure
The October U.S. employment report added to selling pressure when it arrived on Nov. 6. Employers added 165,000 jobs, compared with forecasts of roughly 59,000 to 65,000, and unemployment stood at 4.1%.
CME FedWatch subsequently showed a 76.8% probability of a quarter-point interest-rate increase at the Dec. 8-9 Federal Open Market Committee meeting. If enacted, that increase would take the federal funds target range to 4.00%-4.25%, from 3.75%-4.00%.
Price levels and the economic calendar
As of Nov. 6, ETH was trading between its roughly $2,160 200-day moving average and its approximately $2,510 50-day average. Its Nov. 5 intraday low was $2,221.92; the last lower daily close was on Aug. 19, at around $1,916. The 30-day high of about $2,697 was roughly 17% above the then-current price.
The next scheduled releases that could shift rate expectations and crypto markets are the October consumer price index report on Nov. 10, the Fed's October meeting minutes on Nov. 18 and the November jobs report on Dec. 4. Those releases precede the Fed's Dec. 8-9 policy meeting.
