- Options markets show a sharp rise in bearish activity for Ethereum, with traders buying put protection.
- Perpetual open interest in Ethereum futures fell 2% from $24.6 billion to $24.1 billion since Sept. 1, while ETF flows into spot Ether remain strong.
- Derivatives data show concentrated put volumes at near-term strikes, indicating traders expect a short-term pullback.
- August ETF inflows into spot Ethereum reached $3.87 billion, with another $1.08 billion in the most recent week, outpacing Bitcoin ETF flows.
- The market shows a split between short-term hedging and longer-term institutional accumulation.
Ethereum options traders increased bearish bets in late August and early September as some investors bought put protection against a price drop. This shift comes while large institutional flows moved into spot Ether exchange-traded funds.
Perpetual open interest for Ethereum futures fell about 2%, from $24.6 billion to $24.1 billion since Sept. 1, according to Coinanlyze. Ethereum trades near $4,368, per CoinGecko, after slipping from an Aug. 24 peak of $4,955.
Block Scholes researcher Andrew Melville said there has been “a large increase in open interest of puts since the end of August,” citing Deribit data. Melville noted the rush to buy protection has made bearish bets pricier than bullish ones, signaling growing caution among investors.
Sean Dawson, head of research at Derive, highlighted specific hedges and expiries. “For ETH on the September 12 expiry, we see almost 10% of volume in the last 48 hours on the $3600, $3800 puts as traders brace for a sharp pullback,” he said. Dawson also observed put clustering at the $4,000 and $5,000 strikes for the Sept. 26 expiry and added, “Broadly, Ethereum posturing is bearish and signalling for a mild correction by the end of the month.”
Open interest is the total number of active derivative contracts; puts are options that gain value if the underlying asset falls in price. These allow traders to hedge short-term downside risk.
Staking netflow dropped to 183 ETH after an August 25 inflow of 348,236 ETH, per Dune, suggesting some unstaking and possible profit-taking. Spot ETF inflows for Ethereum reached $3.87 billion in August with $1.08 billion more recently, per SoSoValue, a pattern that contrasts with net outflows from Bitcoin ETFs.
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