Wintermute: The level ETH truly needs to pay attention to is around $1600, institutional demand has not returned yet

Wintermute posted a market update on social media on February 24, noting that BTC has tried (and failed) to push above $70k several times since the cascading liquidation two weeks ago. The lack of a solid rebound attempt matters more than the sideways trading itself. Price action’s choppy, liquidity’s thin, the range is tightening, and there’s no clear directional conviction. ETH dropped below $1900 this week—a level that’s more psychologically meaningful than technically critical, with the real line in the sand for ETH around $1600. Even though prices have stabilized, institutional demand hasn’t come back— a stark contrast to the $85k-$95k range we saw earlier. The derivatives market shows little directional bias or trading interest: basis is at multi-month lows, put option skew is elevated and climbing, and open interest has been falling steadily since October. On the exchange side, fund flows lean heavily toward selling. That said, a curious signal popped up midweek: high-net-worth investors briefly dabbled in some altcoins. In an otherwise defensive market, this was a small but notable confidence spark—though it fizzled out fast. By the latter half of the week, the market was back to sideways trading, and willingness to put on positions dried up. That signals the market isn’t ready to reward early bets yet. Most marginal activity is still focused on hedging (protection) rather than conviction.