Ethereum Slumps to $1,563 as USDT Overtakes by FDV and DEX Volume Surges

Ethereum trades at $1,563 after a 3.17% daily drop, with options markets showing rising short-term protection as the put/call volume ratio hit 1.25. The weakness follows heavy whale selling of 19,441 ETH on June 25 that briefly pushed prices to $1,500. Open interest had already collapsed 69% to $10.4 billion, while Binance captured over 40% market share. Modest accumulation signals, including $58.83 million in whale withdrawals, briefly emerged on June 24 but failed to halt the slide. DEX volume instead surged 36% to $1.3 billion even as prices fell, and USDT briefly overtook ETH by fully diluted valuation.