Ethereum price at $2,396 and €2,137: next target €2,176

Ethereum trades at $2,396 on Monday evening. In euros that is €2,137, and the second figure is the one an investor in Germany works with when buying, selling or sorting paperwork for the tax office. Both numbers describe the same coin, yet they tell two different years: in dollars, Ethereum has lost 39.7 percent since October 20, 2025, in euros 37.5 percent. The gap of 2.2 percentage points comes from the exchange rate.

Ethereum price on Monday evening: $2,396 and €2,137

Against the previous day that is a gain of 1.3 percent in dollars and 1.5 percent in euros (market data from CoinGecko, as of Monday evening, October 19). The daily range ran from $2,329.53 to $2,443.80, a spread of $114 or almost five percent between low and high. Market capitalisation stands at $293 billion, with 122.15 million ETH in circulation.

The distance to the all-time high remains wide. On August 24, 2025, one ETH cost $4,946. From there to today, 51.6 percent is missing. Counted in euros the gap is slightly different, because the euro stood higher back then: €4,230 against €2,137 today, a fall of 49.5 percent.

The ECB reference rate: $1.1225 per euro

You do not have to estimate the conversion rate. The European Central Bank sets a reference rate on every bank working day at around 16:00 and publishes it free of charge. For Monday, October 19, 2026, it shows $1.1225 per euro. A week earlier, on October 13, it was 1.1188, and on October 16 it was 1.1253.

The reference rate is not a trading rate at which you can exchange money. It is a mid-market figure that the central banks of the Eurosystem set jointly, and it serves as a generally accepted yardstick for conversion. That is what makes it usable for records: it comes from a public body, it can be retrieved after the fact, and it is the same for everyone on any given day. The series is published on the ECB page on euro reference rates, and the Deutsche Bundesbank mirrors the same values.

Twelve months in two currencies: 39.7 against 37.5 percent

On October 20, 2025, ETH traded at $3,982 and €3,420. The conversion rate then stood at $1.1643 per euro. Since then the dollar has gained 3.7 percent against the euro, from 1.1643 to 1.1225. A loss in dollars therefore comes out slightly milder once it is converted into euros.

The same effect shows over thirty days, only weaker: in dollars the decline is 8.1 percent, in euros 6.0 percent. Over seven days the relationship even reverses. There ETH lost 5.3 percent in dollars and 5.5 in euros, because the euro firmed again over that single week. The currency effect runs in both directions, and over short periods it is small. Only over months does it grow into a figure you can see on a tax return.

Two annual lows on two different days

The annual low shows how far the two calculations can drift apart. In dollars it was $1,566.01 and fell on June 26, 2026. In euros it was €1,361.52, and that day was June 7, 2026. Nineteen days separate the two troughs.

That is the mechanism behind the whole calculation. A euro investor holds two positions at once, even if only one was bought: Ethereum, and, through the dollar pricing on crypto exchanges, a currency position. The two move independently. In June the euro was strong, so the lowest point reached the euro investor earlier than the one counting in dollars.

What has changed since Friday

On October 16 this space carried an article on the withdrawal of 430,000 ETH from Binance's reserves, at a price of $2,412 at the time. Little has happened since, and that is the real story: $2,440 on Friday, $2,396 on Monday evening, a fall of 1.8 percent over a weekend. In euros it is €2,176 against €2,137, also 1.8 percent, so here both calculations run in step.

The $2,400 level, which had held on Thursday and Friday, broke on Sunday and was won back during Monday's session. Against Bitcoin, ETH stands at 0.02933, with Bitcoin itself at $81,821.

The daily low met the 90-day average

The low of the day was $2,329.53. The average of the past ninety trading days is $2,330.24. Seventy-one cents separate the two values. A moving average is simply the mean of the most recent closing prices, and it becomes interesting where many market participants see the same line on the chart and place their orders accordingly. Today the line held.

In euros the same ninety-day average sits at €2,033. The current price of €2,137 stands 5.1 percent above it, while in dollars the distance is only 2.8 percent. For an investor who has noted entry prices in euros, the buffer to the line is therefore almost twice as far away as for one watching the dollar chart. If you set alerts, know which currency the threshold refers to. For an overview of which tools keep both currencies cleanly, see our comparison of tax software and portfolio trackers.

How to work out the euro value for Annex SO

Private disposals are governed by section 23 of the German Income Tax Act. The taxable gain is the difference between the sale price and the acquisition cost, less the related expenses. Both amounts belong in Annex SO in euros, even if the exchange settled in dollars or Tether.

Getting there takes three steps. First, note the date and the time of every purchase and sale, not just the month. Second, obtain the reference rate for that date and use it to convert the dollar amount into euros. Third, file the evidence of the rate together with the transaction statement, so the figure stays verifiable if it is ever questioned. If you bought in euros through a German account, you can skip the second step, because the euro amount is already on the statement.

A worked example from the figures in this article: buying one ETH on October 20, 2025 at $3,982 came to exactly €3,420 at a rate of 1.1643. Selling today at $2,396 brings around €2,134 at 1.1225. The loss is €1,286. Taking the dollar amounts at face value and converting only at the end would give €1,413, which is €127 too much.

The holding period runs to the day

Under section 23, a gain from a private disposal stays tax-free if more than a year lies between acquisition and sale. That period counts to the day and not by calendar year. If you bought ETH on October 20, 2025, you have been outside the period since October 21, 2026, which is the day after tomorrow. With a loss that is bad news: hold for longer than a year and the loss can no longer be offset against other disposal gains.

This is where the euro calculation becomes practical. Whether a sale inside the period produces a gain or a loss is decided by the euro amounts, not by the dollar figures on the trading screen. With an exchange-rate move of 3.7 percent over a year, a small dollar gain can turn into a loss in euros, and the other way round. How far the planned reform of the holding period has progressed is set out in our continuously updated status on the crypto holding period.

The levels above and below

Above, the first documented level is Friday's close at €2,176, or $2,440. Beyond it lies the daily high of $2,443.80, which was rejected twice today. Only above that does the way open into the range in which ETH traded in mid-October.

Below, the first level that counts is today's low at $2,329.53, because that is where the ninety-day average runs. In euros that is around €2,075. Should that line break, the next justified level is the average in euros at €2,033. The annual low of $1,566 is far away and plays no part on a daily view.

Our view on the euro calculation

In our editorial view, German investors systematically underestimate the currency effect, because practically every price display runs in dollars. The evidence is above: 2.2 percentage points of difference over twelve months, 2.1 over thirty days, two annual lows nineteen days apart, and a worked example in which €127 of difference appears. Against that, the effect stays small on a weekly view and even reverses, as the past seven days show. For short-term trades it is therefore secondary.

If you hold for months, run savings plans or prepare a tax return, count in euros from the start. That is not a recommendation for or against buying, but a question of bookkeeping. Where things can go on a horizon of months is something we assess regularly in our forecast.

Ethereum in euros: below €2,033 the 90-day average gives way

Three steps that follow from the figures in this article:

1. Check which currency your entry prices are recorded in. If they are in dollars, convert them once with the reference rate for the respective purchase date. Then you know whether a position is actually down in euros.
2. Compare the fees and the euro deposit options at your exchange. Trading directly in euros saves the conversion and puts the euro amount straight into the statement. Which providers show this cleanly is set out in our comparison of crypto exchanges.
3. If you stake, those rewards are a separate item and are valued in euros at the time of receipt, not at the time of sale. The terms and the payout intervals of the providers are in our overview of staking platforms.

(As of October 19, 2026. This article is not investment advice. Prices and fee structures change; check the terms with the provider before you buy.)