Matrixport: The rise of Ethereum is driven by leverage, with futures open interest nearing historic highs.

On June 11, Matrixport released a daily chart analysis stating that the funding rate for Ethereum has surged to 13.7%, marking a new high since February of this year. This is typically interpreted by the market as a favourable signal, likely to attract more capital inflow into Ethereum ETFs. However, a more concerning sign is that the open interest in futures contracts is approaching historical highs from December 2024, indicating that the main driver of this price pump is not spot buyers but leveraged futures traders. In contrast to Bitcoin, which is still dominated by spot demand, Ethereum’s trend shows divergence. Recently, there has been a surge in call options buying, coupled with gamma hedging effects, posing a significant gap risk for ETH. The market is becoming increasingly fragile and is sensitive to momentum changes.