Ethereum Options Open Interest Near $6 Billion as Traders Hedge Short-Term Downside

Ethereum (ETH) options positioning continued to tilt bullish in outstanding bets, even as traders ramped up near-term downside hedges—an increasingly common mix that signals confidence in the broader trend alongside heightened caution about short-term volatility.

As of April 6 at 12:00 a.m. ET, data compiled by CoinGlass showed total Ethereum options 'open interest' (OI) at $5.94 billion, up about 2.8% from $5.78 billion a day earlier. Calls accounted for 63.94% of OI versus 36.06% for puts, underscoring that the market’s longer-dated positioning still leans toward upside exposure.

Trading activity, however, told a more defensive story. Aggregate options volume over the past 24 hours reached roughly $556 million, with puts making up 57.02% of turnover compared with 42.98% for calls. The shift suggests traders are actively paying for protection or placing tactical bearish bets, even while the stock of existing positions remains call-heavy.

By venue, the day’s notional volume was led by Bybit at about $281 million, followed by Deribit at roughly $104 million, Binance at approximately $101 million, and OKX near $71 million, according to the data. CME showed no recorded Ether options volume over the period, highlighting that recent activity has been concentrated on offshore crypto derivatives exchanges rather than U.S.-regulated markets.

In terms of where longer-term exposure is clustered, the largest OI concentrations were seen in a $3,200 call expiring Dec. 25 on Deribit, followed by $2,500 and $2,000 calls expiring June 26—also on Deribit. Such strike selection often reflects traders anchoring around key psychological levels and seeking leveraged upside participation into mid-year and year-end maturities.

The most actively traded contracts over the past 24 hours were dominated by same-day downside protection on Bybit. The top volume contracts included a $1,750 put expiring April 6, an $18,000 call expiring June 26, and a $1,850 put expiring April 6. The prominence of near-expiry puts typically points to demand for immediate hedges tied to spot-market uncertainty and intraday price swings.

Options are derivatives that give holders the right, but not the obligation, to buy ('call options') or sell ('put options') an underlying asset at a predetermined price by a specific date. In that context, rising OI generally indicates new positions entering the market—often associated with more durable directional views—while the split between OI and trading volume can reveal whether traders are building longer-term exposure or reacting defensively in the short run.

The current setup—call-dominant OI alongside put-heavy daily turnover—suggests Ethereum traders are maintaining an overall constructive stance while simultaneously preparing for potential pullbacks, a combination that can amplify sensitivity to volatility as key expiry dates approach.