Ethereum Perpetual Futures Open Interest Hits Record High
Date: 2024-02-17 Author: Dima Zakharov Categories: BLOCKCHAIN
Ethereum Perpetual Futures Reach New Heights
The open interest in perpetual futures contracts for Ethereum has witnessed a sharp rise across major centralized cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges since the beginning of February. According to Coinglass, the total value of futures across various exchanges now exceeds $10.1 billion.
Deribit Records All-Time High Open Interest
Deribit, a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, has seen its open interest in perpetual Ethereum contracts reach a record high. Data indicates that Deribit's open interest now surpasses $690 million, highlighting a significant influx of interest in Ethereum derivatives.
Understanding Perpetual Contracts
A perpetual contract is a type of futures contract without an expiration date, allowing traders to hold positions indefinitely.
Potential Catalysts for Growth
The surge in open interest implies heightened trading activity and interaction with Ethereum derivatives. This suggests potential market growth, speculation, or hedging, particularly in anticipation of future price catalysts.
One such catalyst could be the potential approval of an Ethereum spot ETF by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the coming months. For instance, investment firm Franklin Templeton has taken steps towards potentially issuing an Ethereum spot ETF, filing an S-1 registration statement with the SEC.
Increasing Interest Across Exchanges
According to The Block’s Data Dashboard, daily open interest in Ethereum futures on exchanges such as Binance, ByBit, OKX, and CME has also increased. Data from these centralized exchanges shows that open interest in Ethereum futures on Binance has reached a multi-month high, approaching $3 billion.
Rising Funding Rates
Since the beginning of February, the funding rate for Ethereum perpetual futures on Deribit has risen from 0.00045% to the current value of 0.035%. A rising funding rate suggests that long positions (buyers) are paying more than short positions (sellers).
Implications of Increased Interest
The growing demand for long futures positions in the Ethereum derivatives market may reflect more optimistic sentiments towards the digital asset, indicating that more traders anticipate a price increase in Ethereum in the coming months.
Price Movement
As of 7:57 AM Eastern Time, the price of Ethereum has risen by 1.57% to $2841.
Acryptoinvest.news reports that the price of Ethereum has increased by more than 1% in the last 24 hours.
