Daily open interest for ether futures on Binance and Bybit has reached an all-time high, according to The Block’s data dashboard.
The data indicates that among the five major derivatives exchanges, all except the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) broke all-time highs in daily open interest on ether futures. For example, open interest on Binance reached a high of over $3.30 billion, while on Bybit it reached $1.94 billion.
The notable increase suggests growing confidence and participation in ether futures trading, according to one analyst, reflecting ether’s appeal to traders attracted by greater earning potentials in more volatile markets. “The sharp increase in open interest in ether futures shows the increased interest of risk-on traders in leveraged positions who seek higher volatility,” said Ruslan Lienkha, head of markets at YouHodler , at The Block.
Increased ether price volatility
Lienkha pointed out that over the past two weeks, the average daily fluctuation in the price of ether was 2%, which is double the average daily fluctuation in the price of bitcoin. According to The Block’s data dashboard, on-chain ether volume also hit a multi-month high. The daily trading volume on the Ethereum ETH
+2.50%
The network has grown from a low of $1.26 billion in early October 2023 to a current multi-month high of $4.2 billion.
Lienkha said this increased activity is driven by price developments. “Intraday traders definitely prefer ether, and as the Bitcoin rally peters out and volatility decreases, active traders are turning to ether,” the YouHodler analyst added.
Anticipation of spot ether ETFs
Anticipation of the possibility of one-time ether ETF approvals this spring and the upcoming Dencun upgrade are also drivers of on-chain activity, Lienkha said. This view aligns with that of Nansen Principle research analyst Aurélie Barthere, who told The Block that “speculation around the possible approval of a spot ether ETF and upgrade of Dencun proved bullish on the ether.”
The Dencun upgrade will introduce features such as blob transactions and transient storage. It allows the use of off-chain “data blobs” to incorporate more data into Ethereum transactions without impacting block processing times.
According to Lienkha, the possibility of a spot ETF and the Dencun upgrade support continued bullish sentiment for the second-largest digital asset by market capitalization. “With Ether now surpassing the $3,000 mark, many investors see this as a psychological high for the digital asset, which is likely spurring further buying,” the YouHodler analyst added.
Over the past 24 hours, the price of ether has held above the $3,000 mark, now trading at $3,153 as of 1:04 p.m. ET, according to The Block’s price page. The GM 30 Index, representing a selection of the top 30 cryptocurrencies, increased by 0.36% over the past 24 hours, now standing at 115.07.
The price of Ether has increased by more than 3% in the last 24 hours. Image: The block.
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