Ethereum Falls Below $1,900 After 22.7% Decline; Vitalik Announces Five-Year Tightening Plan

Ethereum (ETH) fell below $1,900, trading around $1,847.84 in February 2026 after sliding from above $2,360 to the $1,825 range, a decline of over 22.7%, trading data show. On January 29, 2026, U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs recorded a single-day net outflow of $155.7 million, including $59.2 million from Fidelity's FETH and $54.9 million from BlackRock's ETHA, while Grayscale's funds also saw outflows in the tens of millions. On-chain data show whale accounts sold approximately 1.43 million ETH within two weeks, and Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin sold over 8,800 ETH for about $18.45 million this month. Vitalik Buterin announced the Ethereum Foundation will enter a five-year period of "moderate tightening," aiming to sustain core technology development and safeguard its roadmap, and he withdrew 16,384 ETH to reduce selected projects' reliance on EF by funding open-source, hardware and privacy-focused public goods through decentralized staking rewards.