Ethereum Futures Open Interest Hits Record 3.7 Million ETH as Rebound Bets Grow

Ethereum is trading near its low for the year, while the futures market is showing a buildup in bullish positions as traders bet on a rebound.

Cointelegraph reported on June 12 that Binance's ETH futures open interest reached a record 3.7 million ETH. Binance now accounts for more than 44% of the overall ETH futures market.

ETH futures trading activity is improving despite rising geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic uncertainty, crypto analyst Darkfost said.

Buying sentiment has also partially recovered. Binance's weekly taker buy-sell ratio rose to 1.0 from 0.95. Across all exchanges, the ratio climbed to 1.0 from 0.94 over the past two weeks, suggesting selling pressure has eased.

Still, leveraged trading is increasing faster than spot demand, adding to market risk. Binance's futures-to-spot volume imbalance indicator rose to about 0.90, near an all-time high. Perpetual futures volume was about 5.57 million ETH, compared with roughly 290,000 ETH in spot volume.

Liquidation risk is building in both directions. About $8 billion of short positions is concentrated in the $2,200 to $2,400 range, leaving room for a short squeeze if ETH rebounds.

At the same time, long liquidation risk remains substantial below the current price. Below $1,500, about $1.72 billion of long liquidations is stacked up, while around $1,800, roughly $1.9 billion of short liquidations is concentrated.

Analyst Amr Taha said Binance's ETH open interest increased by 616,400 ETH over the past 30 days, while Gate.io posted a decline of 631,700 ETH. The positioning trend is clearly diverging across exchanges.