ETH drops sharply 1.33% in 15 minutes: uncertainty from the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting triggers a selloff in risk assets

From 14:15 to 14:30 (UTC) on June 16, 2026, ETH fell by 1.33% within 15 minutes. The price quickly dropped from around 1,779.6 USDT to 1,771.6 USDT, with a trading range of 1.46%. This period coincided with the U.S. Eastern morning trading active window and overlapped with the opening of the Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting, significantly boosting market wait-and-see sentiment.

The main driver behind this move was uncertainty brought by the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting. June 16, 2026 marked the start of the Fed’s two-day policy-making meeting, with expectations for the interest rate decision exerting direct pressure on risk assets. Historical experience shows that during Fed meetings, liquidity in the crypto market tends to tighten. Investors then prefer to avoid risk, leading to concentrated sell-offs in risk assets.

Second, profit-taking pressure intensified the decline. After the day’s open, ETH surged rapidly to $1,839.77 (about 2.4% higher than the previous day’s close). Some short-term investors chose to take profits at the highs. The 14:15-14:30 window also coincided with the transition between European and U.S. trading sessions, when liquidity is relatively thinner, amplifying the impact of sell pressure on price. Meanwhile, the $1,840-1,850 range acted as a short-term technical resistance zone, triggering profit-taking strategies from some quant funds and creating a technical-sell-pressure feedback loop. On-chain data shows that whale addresses continued transferring assets to exchanges during the rebound, while institutional outflows remained strong with net outflows of $1.25 billion from May’s Ethereum ETFs—together amplifying near-term sell pressure.

Volatility risks remain in play. Investors should focus on the Federal Reserve’s rate decision and subsequent policy guidance. For ETH downside support, key levels to watch are the $1,750-1,770 range. Monitoring on-chain fund flows and changes in ETF flows is crucial; with short-term volatility heightened, risk control should be in place.