Ethereum [ETH] has been trailing behind its main counterparts like Bitcoin [BTC] and Solana [SOL], even after the approval of a US spot ETF in Q2. Nonetheless, on the 13th of September, there was an upsurge in interest in the leading altcoin.
As per insights from the Singapore-based cryptocurrency trading company QCP Capital, the demand for ETH options has seen a significant increase, particularly in contracts targeting the $3k mark by the end of this year.
“The options market has experienced a resurgence in interest for ETH, with over 20k contracts aiming for the $3k level by December 27. The year-end prospects for ETH seem quite promising.”
Positive Momentum for ETH
Options data and trading volume serve as forward-looking indicators, providing insights into future price predictions and overall sentiment in the market.
Therefore, the recent surge in the options market, along with the rise in Open Interest (OI) rates, signifies optimistic expectations and a possible increase in ETH’s value in Q4.
Data from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) also corroborated QCP Capital’s stance.
On the 13th of September, Ethereum experienced a notable surge in trading volume and OI for the first time this month. The OI hit $3.1 billion, with trading volume close to $700 million, showcasing growing institutional interest in the altcoin.
Despite the escalating options activity, the US ETH ETFs witnessed limited demand on Friday.
The total daily inflow for these products was a mere $1.5 million, with a net negative flow for the week. Last week alone, they registered an outflow of $12.92 million, indicating a lack of robust investor confidence that needed to be restored.
Despite these challenges, Coinbase analyst David Duong attributed ETH’s subdued price performance to the current state of the market structure. Duong highlighted that crypto investors were primarily focused on other altcoin holdings, hindering substantial capital inflow into ETH.
An additional short-term hurdle for ETH’s price surge was the sudden spike in exchange reserves, with approximately 100k tokens being transferred to exchanges before the Federal Reserve’s rate decision on the 18th of September.
As of the latest data, Ethereum was valued at $2.4k, marking a 5% increase in trading value over the past seven days.