Ethereum Slides Near $1,630 as Lubin Defends $259M DAI Vault, NFT Floors Crater 28%

Ethereum News Consensys CEO Joe Lubin pushed back this weekend against mounting criticism over budget cuts, staff exits and leadership changes at the Ethereum Foundation, framing the restructuring as a deliberate narrowing of scope rather than a sign of distress. Lubin, who helped launch Ethereum in 2015 but holds no role at the foundation, argued the organization should focus strictly on stewarding core protocol technology and credibly neutral values, while separate entities handle adoption, institutional engagement and ecosystem growth. He rejected the narrative that the network, which still processes roughly two million daily transactions, is in decline, attributing much of the recent criticism to a misreading of the foundation's evolving mandate. The non-fungible token sector slid back toward record lows as ETH's 28% drawdown over the past month dragged blue-chip floors with it. CryptoPunks now changes hands near $53,250 at a 32.5 ETH floor, Bored Ape Yacht Club sits below $14,830 at 9.05 ETH, and Pudgy Penguins hover around $7,335. The divergence between ETH-denominated and dollar floors has widened sharply: CryptoPunks' ETH floor actually rose from 31 to 32.5 ETH, yet its dollar value fell 29%. Aggregate floor valuations across the segment have compressed to between $1.4 billion and $2.4 billion, with CryptoPunks alone representing 27% of the total. A wallet long linked to Lubin moved 110,000 ETH worth approximately $170.78 million across three transactions on Saturday, depositing the funds as additional collateral into Sky (formerly MakerDAO) vaults. On-chain data shows the vaults collectively hold 412,430 WETH backing $259.05 million in DAI debt, with liquidation prices of $899, $1,020 and $1,056 placing the position roughly 33% above the nearest threshold. One destination address grew to a fresh high of 177,908 WETH after a 40,000 ETH top-up. Analysts characterized the move as defensive collateral management on a long-standing DeFi position rather than a precursor to a sale. Bitcoin analyst PlanB drew renewed attention to Ethereum's underperformance versus the leading blockchain asset, noting that the ETH/BTC pair has collapsed back to roughly 0.026 — the same ratio recorded in March 2016. The observation underscores a near-decade of relative weakness against Bitcoin and has rekindled debate over whether the so-called flippening thesis remains plausible. The pair sits well below the cycle highs above 0.08 reached in 2021 and reinforces concerns that capital rotation into Bitcoin spot products, combined with the rise of alternative smart-contract platforms, has steadily eroded Ethereum's relative pricing power within the broader altcoin complex. Equity markets have continued to offer brutal comparisons for crypto holders. AXT Inc., a California-based semiconductor company producing indium phosphide and gallium arsenide substrates for AI photonic applications, has surged more than 5,100% over the past twelve months, climbing from roughly $1.74 to nearly $89 after briefly touching $140 in May. Across the same window, Bitcoin and Ethereum have each shed close to 40%. The contrast highlights how aggressively capital has rotated into AI infrastructure names tied to hyperscaler data-center demand, while crypto majors remain mired in a sustained bear market that has displaced digital assets as the dominant growth narrative. Spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds have compounded the pressure, recording a 17-session outflow streak that drained more than $401 million from US-listed products in May. The persistent redemptions have coincided with ETH trading roughly 67% below its August 2025 record near $4,946 and 34% lower year over year. Briefly during last week's drawdown, ETH lost its position as the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization to USDT, before reclaiming the spot. The combination of ETF outflows, weak NFT activity and competing narratives in AI equities has left the asset searching for a durable institutional bid. ETH trades at $1,630.68, up 4.65% over 24 hours with a $196.5 billion market cap and $11.6 billion of turnover, yet structural readings remain heavy. Price sits just above first support at $1,615.24, with deeper levels at $1,505.68 and $1,244.77 if that floor breaks. Overhead resistance clusters at $1,666.80, $1,732.06 and $1,872.10. The RSI at 21.49 signals a deeply oversold condition that often precedes relief bounces, but the MACD remains bearish and the broader trend is down. A daily close above $1,732 would invalidate the bearish bias; failure at $1,615 reopens $1,505 quickly.