Contents
Share
Quick Take
- Ether perpetual futures open interest has surged on centralized exchanges, hitting an all-time high on Deribit.
- The rise in the ether perpetual futures funding rate since the start of February on Deribit suggests an increasing demand for long (buy) positions.
Open interest in ether perpetual futures has surged across major centralized cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges since the beginning of February. Open interest for
ETH -1.47% futures across different exchanges is currently over $10.1 billion, according to Coinglass.
The total number of outstanding perpetual futures contracts for ether on the Deribit cryptocurrency derivatives exchange has reached an all-time high. The open interest on Deribit now stands at over $690 million, data shows.
A perpetual contract is a type of futures contract with no expiration date and allows traders to hold positions indefinitely.
The uptick in open interest suggests a heightened level of trading activity and engagement with ether derivatives. This suggests a potential rise in market attention, speculation, or hedging activities linked to ether, particularly in anticipation of potential upcoming price catalysts.
One such catalyst could be the potential approval of a spot ether ETF by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the coming months. For example, the investment firm Franklin Templeton joined other asset managers in taking the initial step towards potentially issuing a spot ether ETF by filing an S-1 registration statement with the SEC on Monday.
According to The Block’s Data Dashboard, daily ether futures open interest on Binance, ByBit, OKX and CME have also increased. Of these centralized exchanges, data shows that ether futures open interest on Binance has hit a multi-month high of almost $3 billion.
THE SCOOP
By signing-up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy EMAIL Also receive The Daily and our weekly Data & Insights newsletters – both are FREE By signing-up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Ether futures funding rate increases
Since the beginning of February, the funding rate for ether perpetual futures contracts on the Deribit centralized derivatives exchange has increased from 0.00045% to a current value of 0.035%. When the funding rate increases, it means that long positions (buyers) are paying more to short positions (sellers).
This indicates a growing demand for long futures positions in the derivatives market for ether. The uptick could reflect a more bullish sentiment toward the digital asset, implying that a greater number of traders anticipate an upward movement in the price of ether in coming months.
The price of ether increased 1.57% to $2,841 at 7:57 a.m. ET, according to The Block’s Price Page.
Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.
© 2023 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
TAGS CRYPTO MOVERS Share
About Author
Brian McGleenon is a UK-based markets reporter for The Block. He has worked as a financial journalist and producer for multiple news outlets over the years, such as Fuji Television, The Independent, Yahoo Finance, The Evening Standard, and The Daily Express. Brian is also a screenwriter and producer with one feature film produced and one in development with Northern Ireland Screen. Apart from web3 and cryptocurrency developments, he is also interested in geopolitics, environmental issues, artificial intelligence, and longevity research. Get in touch via email [email protected].
Editor
To contact the editor of this story:
Vishal Chawla at
[email protected]
More by Brian McGleenon
Bitcoin price should be ‘well supported’ by institutional players in the months ahead: Coinbase report
February 16, 2024, 11:57AM EST Markets