A few days ago, Ethereum saw a significant increase following a period of bearish stress that had stalled prior upward attempts. However, this newfound positive impetus looks to be losing steam, as the price of ETH fell on Thursday. Despite the downturn, ETH’s derivatives market maintained its strong momentum.
A dramatic increase in Ethereum open interest
As Thursday came to a conclusion, Ethereum suffered a hit and went below the $2,700 price threshold, turning the level into resistance once more. While the altcoin’s price fell below important support levels, Glassnode, a leading data analytics platform, announced a significant increase in ETH on-chain activity.
This advancement, as described by Glassnode, is supported by a recent increase in Ethereum Cash-Margined Futures Open Interest. According to the on-chain platform, cash-margined futures open interest has increased dramatically to a new all-time high.
The platform’s data shows that the primary investor behavior metric has reached the $20 billion milestone. It is worth noting that this strong increase in open interest follows a large decline to $8 billion in early Q2 of this year.
$ETH futures open interest (cash-margined) just hit a new all-time high – topping $20B. Despite a slight pullback from the $2.8K levels, leverage continues to build as traders load up using stablecoins. pic.twitter.com/XP3KmhkdJ1
— glassnode (@glassnode) June 12, 2025
Because the futures open interest has risen significantly to a new all-time high following a recent dip, this suggests that the network’s derivatives landscape is enjoying a rebound of activity. Furthermore, it suggests that traders are getting more interested in ETH without relying on crypto-backed collateral, which is frequently indicative of increased institutional engagement.
Glassnode stated that leverage is increasing as traders stock up on stablecoins, despite a modest retreat from the $2,800 levels. Such a divergence could indicate that traders are still betting on the altcoin in anticipation of a significant rally in the near future.
ETH’s collapse brings its price under the cost basis distribution
ETH’s latest price decline has caused worries as it falls below the Cost Basis Distribution at $2,760, where 800,000 ETH were kept, and $2,700 and $2,740, where nearly 1.3 million ETH were purchased. These levels, which earlier functioned as strong support following the altcoin’s meteoric rise, are now functioning as strong resistance once more.
Currently, the cost basis bands are more evenly spread, with each $50 band containing 200,000-400,000 ETH and ranging from $2,760 to $3,420 above spot. However, Glassnode states that there is no strong resistance until $3,417, at which point 607,950 ETH is held.
If Ethereum’s price reclaims the $2,700 to $2,760 zone, the altcoin’s path to $3,420 will be open once more. Nonetheless, how quickly ETH can reach this important resistance level will be determined by the behavior of holders in the $2,800-$3,300 price range.
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