Contrary to the narrative circulating on Crypto Twitter about Ethereum (ETH) facing stagnation, many market players are feeling optimistic about a potential price upswing.
With Ethereum’s blob usage rising, traders are diving deeper into derivatives linked to ETH.
According to CoinGlass, the cumulative open interest across perpetual and standard futures contracts for Ethereum has reached unprecedented levels, now at 6.32 million ETH—worth more than $27 billion.
This 17% rise in open interest over the current month indicates growing confidence.
Typically, a simultaneous increase in both open interest and price signals bullish momentum, and indeed, ETH’s value surged by 35% this November to reach $3,400, aligning with Bitcoin’s revival.
Analyzing data from Velo, we find that the annualized premium for three-month ETH futures compared to spot prices has widened to 16% on prominent offshore exchanges like Binance, OKX, and Deribit.
The first-month premium on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange has also climbed to 14%.
Such significant premiums might entice more investors towards cash-and-carry strategies to exploit price discrepancies between futures and spot markets, likely boosting investment in U.S.-listed spot ETH ETFs.
This approach typically involves holding a long position in the ETF while simultaneously shorting CME futures.
Moreover, the ether options market is experiencing a noticeable resurgence, with over 2 million contracts active or outstanding on Deribit as of this writing, marking the highest count since late June.
The combined value of this open interest has climbed to roughly $7.33 billion, as per Deribit Metrics.
The recent price rally has also positively influenced the total value locked (TVL) in Ethereum-based applications, which has surged to $65 billion, a peak not seen since May 2022.
Much of this value is concentrated in three key platforms: Lido, a liquid staking protocol with over $32 billion; Aave, a lending protocol boasting $26 billion in various assets; and EigenLayer, a restaking platform managing an impressive $14 billion.
Across Ethereum’s ecosystem, October saw a significant uptick in revenue, transaction fees, new wallet registrations, and on-chain activity, marking a notable contrast to the quieter months between May and September.
However, these metrics still lag behind the yearly highs observed in March, when excitement around ETH ETFs surged.
While Ethereum is regaining momentum, the Solana network continues to be a heavyweight in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space, drawing considerable trading activity thanks to its broader retail appeal and lower transaction fees.
On a related note, recent trends in stablecoin transactions show that Ethereum is now home to more USDT than Tron, with $60.3 billion compared to Tron’s $57.94 billion—something we haven’t seen since June 2022.
Market sentiment has been noticeably influenced by political developments as well; the recent election of Donald Trump as president has ignited speculative enthusiasm for a potential DeFi resurgence.
Investors are particularly interested in ETH, encouraged by hints that his administration may ease regulatory pressures on the crypto sector.
This could pave the way for a more nurturing environment for DeFi platforms in the U.S., contributing to the growth of ETH and other leading DeFi assets since early November.
Source: Coindesk.com
