Ether (ETH) continues to demonstrate resilience near the $2,800 price level despite heightened bearish options activity, reflecting intricate market sentiment shaped by recent rallies and potential altcoin ETF developments.
Institutional engagement with ETH options has intensified significantly, with open interest surging from $6.3 billion to $8.3 billion between early April and early June. Derivatives platform Deribit has been a primary driver of this activity, indicating growing professional trader participation.
Market participants are deploying bearish hedging strategies including short risk reversals and bear diagonal spreads to mitigate downside exposure while preserving upside potential. This caution persists despite Ether’s 49% price surge since May, which notably outperformed competitors Solana (SOL) and XRP. However, potential approvals for altcoin exchange-traded funds could challenge ETH’s current market positioning.
Bitcoin’s expanding institutional footprint—exemplified by initiatives like the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve—adds competitive pressure, potentially diverting investor attention from Ether-based assets.
Contradicting the bearish hedging activity, options market data reveals underlying optimism: 63% of ETH options open interest resides in call contracts, while 92% of put options are positioned below $2,700, signaling expectations of price stability above this threshold.