The open interest in Ethereum ETH/USD futures has reached an all-time high of $15.1 billion, reflecting a surge in investor interest. This spike is attributed to the growing optimism surrounding the potential approval of spot exchange-traded funds in the U.S.
What Happened: The notional open interest, which represents the dollar value locked in active ether futures contracts, has risen by 29.79% in the last 24 hours, as per data from Coinglass. The previous all-time high of $13.2 billion was reached on Mar. 15.
This surge comes amid a significant price increase in the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, which has seen an 18.06% rise to $3,659, according to the data from CoinMarketCap.
The recent bullish trend has been further reinforced by Bloomberg’s ETF analysts, who have increased the likelihood of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approving spot ETH ETFs from 25% to 75%.
The SEC has also requested exchanges seeking to list and trade potential spot ether ETFs to expedite their 19b-4 filings, indicating a potential acceleration of the approval process.
Why It Matters: The surge in Ethereum futures interest follows a series of events that have significantly impacted the crypto market. On Monday, the SEC’s Trading and Markets Division instructed asset managers to revise their 19b-4 filings for the first U.S. ETFs holding Ethereum, leading to a surge in crypto prices.
This shift in sentiment has led to speculation within the crypto community that the SEC may indeed approve a spot ETH ETF, signaling a broader positive regulatory stance towards crypto. The SEC is expected to make a decision on the VanEck spot ether ETF on May 23.
These developments have had a significant impact on the market, with the Bitcoin Fear And Greed Index turning bullish and the SEC Chair Gary Gensler facing criticism for his stance on Ethereum as a security.
Price Action: Ethereum is trading at $3,719.68, up 19.85% in the last 24 hours and 28.7% in the last 7 days.
Photo by Tomasz Makowski on Shutterstock
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