Ether Traders Return to Leverage as Futures Data Signals Shift in Market Positioning
Ether (ETH) traders are quietly returning to leverage, with new futures data signaling a significant shift in market positioning as ETH approaches a critical technical zone. The futures-to-spot ratio on Binance rose sharply from 5 to 6.84, the highest level in the fourth quarter, indicating a key shift in market behavior, with traders increasingly favoring leveraged exposure over spot accumulation.
Recent data from CryptoQuant suggests that Ether leads all major crypto assets in futures-to-spot ratio, with a current rating of 6.84. Compared to Bitcoin and Solana, which are at 4 and 4.3 respectively, ETH has created a gap for itself as the most aggressively positioned large-cap asset in the market. This divergence suggested rising expectations for ETH-specific volatility or future catalysts, with traders betting heavily on derivatives to take advantage of directional moves.
Binance’s on-chain data further supports this shift, highlighting a significant decline in Bitcoin Open Interest (OI) over the past two weeks, while Ether’s OI has remained relatively stable with only a slight average decline of 0.47% per day. The trend suggests that market participants are shifting risk capital from BTC’s uptrend into the higher beta opportunity of ETH.
Technical Structure and Market Expectations
After ETH broke above $3,000 this week, analysts debated whether ETH can convert rising derivatives pressure into a sustained breakout. Crypto trader Scient argued that ETH’s structure is already better than Bitcoin and pointed to a strengthened four-hour support base around $2,800. Bulls assumed that this area would attract new buyers upon each retest, triggering an initial push toward $3,050 and potentially the largest liquidity cluster at $3,390, an area consistent with high-time frame support/resistance, a fair value gap (FVG), and the annual open.
However, Lab Trading analyst Ken believes that the near-term trajectory is still bearish. ETH has consistently rejected the four-hour 100 EMA level throughout November, and the trader warned that the market risks a further downside extension if the $3,000 level fails to cross over into the support zone. Meanwhile, crypto analyst Kingpin Crypto said the “Thanksgiving lull” is a potential springboard. As price responds to the.618 retracement of the 2025 rally and several higher timeframe supports below, some are expecting a December “Ethereum Santa rally” towards the $3,300 level, especially as Bitcoin’s dominance continues to wane.
Investment Advice and Risk Considerations
This article does not contain any investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading activity involves risks and readers should conduct their own research when making their decision. For more information, visit https://cointelegraph.com/news/eth-traders-ramp-up-positioning-setting-a-price-target-at-dollar3-4k
