Ether Open Interest Surges 26% as Market Rebound Draws Institutional, Trader Interest

Open interest represents futures positions that have yet to be settled. An increase typically signals rising leverage and risk appetite, though funding rates are also needed to gauge whether traders are leaning bullish or bearish. ETH briefly fell to $1,940 on March 29, 2026, before rebounding. U.S. spot Ether ETFs recorded $248 million in net inflows over 10 days, while Bitmine Immersion bought another $312 million of ETH, indicating support from institutional capital.

An April 15 report said futures open interest surged 26% to $25.4 billion after ETH reclaimed $2,300. However, the annualized funding rate for perpetual contracts failed to remain at 5% from April 10 and turned negative several times. By June 11, ETH had retreated to around $1,600, yet open interest on Binance hit a record 3.7 million ETH and accounted for more than 44% of the overall market, highlighting a divergence between leveraged activity and spot demand.