Ethereum Fell 10% in October, but Social Sentiment Is Still Positive. Is the Crowd Too Early?

• ETH-USD
• BTC-USD
• SAN-USD

Quick Read

• Ethereum dropped 10% in October to $2,428, yet 59% of social media posts remain bullish, reflecting more optimism than Bitcoin‘s sentiment despite ETH underperforming BTC.

• Santiment warns that crowd optimism during a downturn signals panic sellers haven’t exited yet, suggesting further ETH declines may follow.

• U.S. spot Ether ETFs bled $306 million across five of six trading days in mid-October, with fund investors contradicting bullish social chatter.

• Finally! You can open a SoFi Crypto account and access 25 plus cryptocurrencies without juggling apps or logins.

Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) has dropped 10.2% since October 1, 2026, but social media sentiment remains optimistic. According to Santiment, a prominent crypto analytics firm that monitors social media discussions and blockchain activities, 59.1% of posts about ETH over the latest 24 hours are positive.

Ethereum started October at $2,705 and is now trading around $2,428 as of October 17, down 0.8% in the last 24 hours. The cryptocurrency peaked at $2,777 on October 2 before plummeting to a low of $2,313 on October 15, a day when ETH led the market in liquidations, the forced closures of leveraged trades that ran out of collateral.

While sentiment appears hopeful, the persistent decline raises one question. Is the crowd too early on Ethereum?

ETH Posts Lean 59% Positive, More Upbeat Than Bitcoin’s

Santiment’s analysis shows that 59.1% of ETH posts are bullish, compared with 57.9% for Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC). Furthermore, Santiment’s intensity metric—which measures how strongly posts express sentiment—ranks ETH at 54.1%, while Bitcoin scores 52.2%. This indicates that, despite ETH’s weaker price, its community remains more optimistic than Bitcoin’s.

In the past month, ETH has lost 1.1%, while Bitcoin has gained 6.8%. Additionally, for 2026, ETH is down 18.4% compared to Bitcoin’s 6.8% decline.

Santiment Treats Crowd Optimism During a Drop as a Caution Sign

Sentiment readings reflect what people say, not necessarily what they do with their assets. A participant can express bullish sentiment one day and sell their ETH the next.

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Santiment has consistently viewed crowd optimism during a downturn as a potential warning, whereas fear can indicate more favorable entry points. When most holders remain hopeful for a rebound, it often suggests that those likely to panic and sell have not yet exited their positions, potentially leading to further declines.

Source: finance.yahoo.com