Coinbase Flags $1,980 as Critical Ethereum Level as ETH Battles to Hold $2,000

Ethereum (ETH) is struggling to defend the $2,000 level as selling pressure sweeps across the cryptocurrency market, where Bitcoin has slipped below $73,000 and altcoins have posted sharp declines. The largest altcoin is hovering just above $2,000 after losing more than 15% over the past week.

Against that backdrop, Coinbase Markets has issued a notable assessment of Ethereum's options positioning, warning that a threshold near $1,980 could amplify volatility. Options positioning has become an increasingly watched layer of crypto market structure, because the hedging activity it forces on large dealers can feed directly back into spot prices during volatile stretches.

$589 Million Short Gamma Clustered at $1,980

In a post on X, Coinbase Markets, which analyzes options market data for ETH, said it has a $589 million short gamma position around the $1,980 level. According to Deribit data — Deribit being a leading venue for crypto options trading — approximately $589 million worth of short positions sit at that strike, making $1,980 a critical zone for price volatility.

Per Coinbase, this positioning could accelerate Ethereum's price movements in either direction. Market makers holding short gamma positions may need to trade in parallel with price movements to balance their risks, which can translate into increased selling when ETH's price falls and increased buying when it rises. This hedging dynamic is one reason heavily traded strikes can matter to spot traders as well: the flow generated around them can reinforce moves that are already underway.

The exchange added that if ETH retests the $1,980 level, the current support could weaken and price volatility could increase.

Put Wall at $2,000

Coinbase also noted a concentration of negative gamma at the $2,000 level, paired with high open interest in put options. This area, known as a put wall, forms a significant price threshold in the options market. Heavy put open interest at a round-number strike such as $2,000 gives traders a shared reference point for where hedging flows and downside protection are clustered.

Taken together, the concentration of positioning across the $1,980–$2,000 range is considered a potential source of added downward pressure on Ethereum. With ETH trading just above that band amid a broader market selloff, how price behaves around these strikes — and whether the positioning described by Coinbase shifts — is the immediate marker many market participants are tracking.

This is not investment advice.