Data shows that open interest on Ethereum derivatives contracts has recently exploded upward to a new all-time high of $23 billion, up from around $7 billion at the beginning of the year, in an upward move that one analyst suggest is “guaranteed for heavy fireworks.”
According to data from CoinGlass, there are now $23 billion worth of ETH futures open interest, suggesting a growing amount of positions are being created on the cryptocurrency as fresh capital flows into the market.
The influx of capital may lead to growing volatility in the near future by amplifying potential price movements, hence its potential to lead to “heavy fireworks,” according to CryptoQuant analyst Maartunn.
The rise in open interest comes at a time in which the price of Ethereum has been significantly underperforming that of Bitcoin, with data from CryptoCompare showing that while the flagship cryptocurrency is up more than 156% over the last 12-motnh period, ETH only rose 77%.
As CryptoGlobe reported, a massive Ethereum whale that accumulated nearly 400,000 ETH when the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization was trading at around $6 per token has recently restarted selling.
According to data shared by on-chain analysis firm Lookonchain, the whale accumulated a total of 398,889 ETH for around $2.4 million between January and March 2016, with the tokens now being worth over $1.34 billion after Ethereum’s price exploded in the last eight years.
The cryptocurrency is now trading at $3,600 per token and has a $433 billion market capitalization. Per Lookonchain, the massive Ethereum whale remained dormant for over eight years, before it restarted selling on November 7.
While Bitcoin is trading near a record, Ethereum is still far from its all-time high near $4,600 seen back in 2021. As CryptoGlobe reported, late last month the amount of ETH being held on cryptocurrency exchanges has plunged by around $750 million after massive withdrawals of the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization from these platforms.
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