Around June 6, 2026, the rankings in the cryptocurrency market quietly changed: multiple trading platforms reported that the market capitalization of USDT was approximately $187.034 billion, while ETH was around $184.423 billion. For the first time, USDT clearly surpassed ETH in terms of statistical metrics, rising to the second position in market capitalization. On one side, the dollar-pegged asset, widely used as a medium of exchange and a safe haven, gained weight; on the other side, the native assets of public chains that support DeFi, NFTs, and L2 narratives were pushed to third. Almost simultaneously, on-chain monitoring detected an old address associated with Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin awakening after being silent for over three years, transferring out 80,001 ETH in a single transaction, worth approximately $121.6 million at the time, which was only a part of its holdings of about 243,300 ETH. Meanwhile, a position in ETH with a nominal value of approximately $168 million tracked by crypto analyst Ai Yi was again hit hard, with about 10,117 ETH liquidated this time. The cumulative liquidation scale had approached 31,915 ETH, and after the liquidation, that address still borrowed about 41,167.63 ETH, indicating substantial leverage remained on the books. Under the convergence of these three clues—USDT's market capitalization position, the large transfer from the co-founder's associated address, and the continuous de-leveraging of significant long positions—the market questioning whether ETH's mid-term performance and long-term narrative still remain certain is becoming an inescapable issue.
USDT Sits in the Second Seat
At the same time that longs were being passively de-leveraged, the measurement units themselves quietly changed their seating arrangements. According to AiCoin data, as of June 6, 2026, USDT had a market capitalization of approximately $187.034 billion, while ETH had a market capitalization of around $184.423 billion, with various trading channels providing rankings stating "USDT surpasses ETH, rises to second place in market capitalization" on the same day. Earlier, the market capitalization of USDT and ETH had been described as "extremely close or even briefly overlapping" at multiple points in time, but in the long-term narrative, ETH had traditionally held the second position; this time, the dollar-pegged asset officially took the chair just below BTC.
On one end is the native asset of the Ethereum public chain, carrying the long-term story of DeFi, NFTs, and L2; on the other end is the token pegged to the dollar, more often viewed as a tool for valuation and hedging. When the latter's size surpasses the former, it is more like a mirror to the market. Some opinions suggest that this rank exchange is related to ETH's price drop during the relevant period, with research materials mentioning ETH's price range of about $1515–1590, with a single-day maximum drop of about 11%–13%, although these specific numbers still need further verification. Analysts have attributed the reasons to the continued expansion of USDT supply and investors' preference for holding dollar-valued assets amidst volatility. All these interpretations currently represent the mainstream narrative rather than a verified causal chain, but they enough to highlight a changing fact: at this moment, the market is voting with its feet, temporarily letting the "dollar" narrative overshadow the "Ethereum" narrative.
Lubin's Old Address Revived: 80,000 ETH Mobilized
As the market focused on the alternating market capitalization rankings of USDT and ETH, an old address that had been "sleeping" for years was pinpointed by on-chain monitoring institutions: this address is believed to be associated with Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin. Public records show that prior to this action, it had gone over three years with almost no external transfers, and significant inflows and outflows had already come to a halt, like a forgotten early wealth repository. The long silence combined with the co-founder's label naturally adds a symbolic meaning of "elder chips" to this address, making it easy for the market to interpret any transaction as a signal of a change in attitude.
This time, the old address did not make tentative small transactions, but rather transferred out 80,001 ETH at once, worth about $121.6 million at the time. However, the transaction path to a centralized exchange or confirmed sale was not tracked on-chain. More notably, after the transfer, the address still holds about 243,300 ETH, equivalent to approximately $370 million, still an absolutely large holding. Because the amount of funds is immense and the direction is currently a mystery, market sentiment oscillated between "reduction warnings" and various speculations of "asset restructuring, pledging, or internal settlement." But in the absence of further evidence, this transfer appears more like a question that needs to be continuously tracked rather than a conclusion that can easily be classified as bearish or bullish.
Massive Long Liquidation: Leveraged Bulls Pressed Down
Almost on the same timeline as the co-founder's old address "revival," the leveraged side also received a heavy blow. Crypto analyst Ai Yi monitored that a long ETH lending position with a nominal value of approximately $168 million encountered liquidation again, with about 10,117 ETH added to the latest liquidations. For such large leveraged bulls, every price drop and collateral value decrease pushes the position closer to the risk control line, and this round of liquidation seems more like a concentration of previously accumulated risks.
More notably, this was not an isolated liquidation event. It was disclosed that this position had already been passively liquidated multiple times previously, accumulating a total liquidation of about 31,915.13 ETH, which itself constitutes a "blood-red curve" from the perspective of a single address. Even after multiple rounds of liquidation, the address still borrowed about 41,167.63 ETH, and the position scale remains large, implying a possibility of further liquidation if the market continues to decline. Some market voices consider this series of liquidations as a signal of rising leveraged long risks for ETH, but existing public data does not cover the leverage position distribution and concentration across the entire market, which is insufficient to elevate the succession of individual large position liquidations to a conclusion of systemic risk.
When USDT’s Rise Meets Ethereum’s Old Powers
When USDT's market capitalization exceeds ETH's at approximately $187.034 billion versus around $184.423 billion, reaching second place in the rankings, the market narrative was quickly rewritten: on one hand, the dollar-pegged asset, long regarded as a tool for trading and hedging, takes the "second seat," raising the weight of dollar-valued assets within the entire framework; on the other hand, the large transfer of 80,001 ETH from an address associated with Etherum co-founder Joseph Lubin, along with the approximately $168 million worth of ETH long positions being cumulatively passively sold in several rounds, totaling about 31,915.13 ETH. The rise of USDT, the loosening positions of the old generation of whales, and the concentrated liquidation of leveraged longs are examined within the same timeframe, prompting a re-evaluation of ETH's role as a native asset of public chains and as the base asset for DeFi, NFTs, L2, and application chains, compellingly questioning whether it is truly the value foundation of this system or merely a more volatile "upper-level chip" in the face of the dollar valuation narrative.
Amid such tension, market sentiment oscillates between extremes: on one end, the narrative of "safety" represented by USDT and dollar valuation, with many participants choosing to revert to dollar-pegged assets during dramatic fluctuations; on the other end is the old story that "ETH as the infrastructure of internet finance will eventually reflect long-term value in prices," relying on Ethereum's foundational position in DeFi, NFTs, and various L2s. Debates within the community over whether the expansion of dollar-pegged assets genuinely brings added demand for ETH are growing more heated, yet currently, there is no unified consensus nor comprehensive on-chain quantitative data covering the entire market. USDT's surpassing, the large transfer from the Lubin-associated address, and the series of substantial liquidations of longs are more treated as materials for sentiment and narrative rather than a conclusion of a completed structural reversal. In the short term, the market is likely to continue fluctuating between "safety in dollar valuation" and the "long-term value story of ETH."
Next, Watch These Three On-Chain Trends
Looking ahead, what truly deserves the attention of market watchers are three specific on-chain clues: firstly, the old address identified as associated with Joseph Lubin, which had been almost inactive for large external transfers over the past three years, this time transferring out 80,001 ETH while still retaining about 243,300 ETH. Whether this "revival action" has continuity remains to be seen; thus far, public data has not recorded other large-scale transfers of similar magnitude, nor has it confirmed that these 80,000 ETH have explicitly flowed into centralized exchanges or completed sales. The subsequent direction will directly impact market pricing of the "co-founder’s reduction" narrative; secondly, the not substantial market capitalization gap between USDT at about $187.034 billion and ETH at approximately $184.423 billion raises the question of whether this gap and ranking will be amplified and solidified in the future or if it will fluctuate between the second and third positions along with the price of ETH and the issuance pace of USDT, which relates to the long-term discussion on who structurally dominates: “dollar-pegged assets” or the native assets of public chains; thirdly, that long position with a nominal value of approximately $168 million, which has already faced cumulative liquidations of about 31,900 ETH but still borrowed over 41,000 ETH, and the broader, yet to be quantified ETH leverage structure. The current evidence does not support the conclusion that systemic risks are brewing, but if there are further signals of ETH being clearly transferred to exchanges or more similar large liquidation cases, these new on-chain clues will reshape the market's risk preferences and emotional tone towards ETH.
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