Tom Lee outlined his 2026 market outlook on February 1 during an appearance on podcast "The Compound", saying he remains broadly bullish on cryptocurrencies even as he believes the market is currently in a bear phase with notable short-term pressure, BlockBeats reports. He suggested ETH could establish a bottom around $2,400, after briefly dropping to about $2,200 intraday before trading back near $2,400, and argued that the long-term crypto bull cycle that began in 2022 is still in its early stages. Lee added that if the ETH/BTC ratio revisits its historical peak, Ethereum's price could approach $12,000, reiterating his earlier calls that 2025 would likely see a "down then up" pattern and that Bitcoin may still set a new all-time high.

Ethereum fell below $2,400 on Feb. 1, trading at $2,393.42, HTX market data show. The decline followed a deposit of 100,000 ETH to Binance by an address described as a "BTC OG insider whale."

A BTC OG insider whale deposited 100,000 ETH to Binance on Feb. 1, worth $242.7 million, Lookonchain data show. BlockBeats reports the transfer was directed to the exchange.

Ethereum falling below $2,300 would trigger cumulative long-liquidation intensity of 737 million across mainstream centralized exchanges, while a move above $2,500 would expose 614 million in short-liquidation intensity, Coinglass data show. BlockBeats notes the liquidation chart reflects relative concentration—not exact contract counts or dollar values—with taller bars indicating stronger potential market reactions as liquidity cascades form at those thresholds. The visualization serves as a sensitivity map of impact around key price levels rather than a precise tally of positions at risk.

Two of Hyperliquid's largest Ethereum long addresses were liquidated with combined losses near $284 million, EmberCN said on Feb. 1. The address labeled "CZ counterparty whale" had a $181 million ETH long position cleared yesterday, losing $54 million. The "BTC OG insider whale" saw a $660 million position wiped early today with $230 million in losses.

Jeffrey Huang had ETH and HYPE long positions fully liquidated on Jan. 31, losing about $210,000, HyperInsight data show. The account posted a $1.57 million loss over the past week. After the liquidation, he opened a new $510,000 ETH long at $2,533.72.

Trend Research, associated with Li Hua Yi, supplied 175,800 WETH worth approximately $445 million and borrowed roughly 274 million USDT on Aave V3 on Jan. 31, resulting in a health factor of 1.34, on-chain data cited by BlockBeats show. The position faces liquidation risk only if Ethereum's price falls to $1,558. During the recent market decline, Trend Research transferred a cumulative 109 million USDT from Binance to Aave yesterday to add collateral and reduce liquidation risk on its Ethereum holdings.