Ethereum rises 30% as month-long negative funding flags short squeeze risk

ETH funding stays negative through 30% rebound; shorts build into $2.35–2.45k cap

Ethereum holds above $2,250 while funding stays negative on Binance for a month. Shorts keep paying to fade a 30% rebound from the Feb 6 low.

The drawdown was heavy. ETH fell ~65% from its last peak. Altcoin cap ex-Bitcoin and stablecoins (TOTAL2) dropped over 51%. The selloff reset sentiment.

Recovery has been steady. ETH trades 30% above the Feb low, a move that would usually attract dip buyers in a normal market environment. That hasn’t happened.

Funding tells the story. The monthly average on Binance sits at -0.0018, per Darkfost’s CryptoQuant data. The last time funding stayed this negative this long was November 2022 during the FTX collapse. Different backdrop. Similar behavior: price up while derivatives traders lean short.

Liquidations are rising. Short positions get forced out as price grinds higher, adding incremental buy pressure, per the same dataset.

Price structure is tight. Momentum stalls below a $2,350–$2,450 supply zone. Support holds at $2,200–$2,250.

- A clean break above $2,450 would open a path toward $2,700
- A loss of $2,200–$2,250 risks a move toward $2,000

Context: the rebound is real. Consensus is not. Funding remains the tell for a potential short-squeeze setup, not a forecast, per CryptoQuant analysis.