As the merge date is set, Ethereum Options open interest hits a new high

SNEAK PEEK

  • Ethereum options open interest recently surpassed the mark of $8 billion milestone.
  • The metrics are tracked frequently by traders in order to close out their positions.
  • The transition from PoW to PoS is expected to be a highly bullish catalyst for the price of the second-largest cryptocurrency.

After Ethereum developers made the speculative suggestion that the date for the eagerly anticipated Merge may be September 15, open interest (OI) in Ethereum options increased to a new record high of $8 billion. 

The price of the second-largest cryptocurrency in the world has been rising over the past few weeks, and crypto traders anticipate that trend to last through the Merge before another price decline.

$8B in Open Interest for Ethereum Options

The amount of open interest in Ethereum options, which measures how many active Ethereum derivative contracts there are, has risen to a new high of $8 billion, according to the most recent data. 

The increase comes as Ethereum developers made suggestions that the blockchain‘s most significant network upgrade, The Merge, might take place on September 15. Before this, Ethereum developers chose September 19 as the tentative date for the Merge.

After the blockchain accomplished its third and final public testnet merge, Goerli, just before the mainnet Merge, Ethereum options open interest reached a new peak. In addition, after the Goerli testnet merge was finished, Ethereum’s gas fees fell to their lowest level in more than a year.

Ethereum has had a fantastic couple of weeks, with the price of its native token rising by more than 60% in the last month. However, the cryptocurrency is still down more than 60% from its all-time high, which was in November 2021.

As they anticipate Ether to maintain its upward trend into September, when the Merge is most likely to take place, derivative speculators are buying call options. 

In contrast, futures and options numbers suggest that cryptocurrency traders are preparing for another decline in the price of ETH following the Merge, which Glassnode analysts refer to as a “sell-the-news” scenario. The upcoming Merge, according to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, has not yet been priced and won’t be “until after it happens.”

It is only natural that options traders want to participate in the action now that Ethereum is gaining attention once more.