Ethereum lags Bitcoin 10% as DeFi TVL falls $43B

Ethereum has fallen about 10% behind Bitcoin as decentralized finance activity on the network declined and ETH price stalled near $2,140. DeFi total value locked on Ethereum dropped from $106.687 billion on Jan. 15 to $62.957 billion on May 18, a decline of roughly 41%.

The DeFi contraction accelerated through late March, when TVL was near $80.32 billion. Since that late-March level the network has lost about $17 billion in locked assets, a decline that has coincided with ETH’s price slide during the spring.

On the daily price chart, ETH formed an inverted cup-and-handle pattern between March 29 and May 18. The rebound since mid-May resembles the handle. The pattern would be confirmed if price posts a daily close below the neckline at $2,087; a confirmed break below that level produces a measured move target near $1,690, about 19% below the neckline.

Key intraday and daily price levels are defined. ETH needs to clear $2,132 to sustain the current handle rebound. A move above $2,210, which corresponds to the 0.382 Fibonacci retracement drawn from a $1,799 swing low to a $2,464 swing high, would be an early sign of upside momentum. The pattern would begin to weaken if ETH reclaims $2,307 and would be invalidated only above the prior peak at $2,464. A daily close under $2,087 would confirm a breakdown toward the measured target near $1,690.

On-chain holder metrics show changes in mid-term holdings. The HODL Waves indicator, which measures the share of ETH supply held across age bands, recorded a fall in the three- to six-month cohort from 18.63% of supply on April 7 to 12.73% on May 18. That six-percentage-point drop reflects fewer coins sitting in addresses that last moved them between three and six months ago.

Performance divergences between the two largest cryptocurrencies widened over the spring period. Through mid-May, Bitcoin was up about 2% month-on-month while ETH was down about 8% over the same span, creating an approximate 10-percentage-point performance gap.

Market participants are monitoring whether on-chain activity and holder behavior stabilize and whether other age cohorts show similar shifts. Until a decisive price break occurs, the short-term outlook will track developments around the $2,132 handle level and the $2,087 neckline.