Ether futures open interest hits all-time high as ETH price tops $4.5K — Will it last?

Key Points

1. Ether futures aggregate open interest rose to $60.8 billion, up from $47 billion a week earlier, but remains 11% below the July 27 peak.

2. The ETH perpetual futures annualized premium is at 11%, considered neutral, indicating no excessive demand for leveraged long positions.

3. Despite a 32% increase in ETH price over 10 days, leveraged long interest has not surged, suggesting caution among traders.

4. Ethereum's on-chain activity shows a decline, with TVL dropping 7% over 30 days and weekly fees falling 27%, lagging behind competitors like Solana and Tron.

5. Major institutions like Stripe, Circle, Tether, and JPMorgan are launching their own chains instead of adopting Ethereum layer-2 solutions, increasing competition.