Crypto News- Ether options trading has reached an all-time high across major cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges, as reported by The Block’s Data Dashboard. In January alone, the total trading volume for ether options skyrocketed to nearly $20 billion, with one day left in the month. Notably, around $15 billion of this remarkable volume can be attributed to the Deribit derivatives exchange.
Ether Options Market Sets New Records with Trading Volume Peaking at 2,300 Dollars
Delving into Deribit’s data reveals a focal point – the majority of outstanding ether options contracts are calls with a strike price of $2,500, slated to expire on Friday, Feb. 23. The specifics from Deribit highlight an impressive 74,548 contracts outstanding for calls at the $2,500 strike price, boasting a notional value of approximately $172 million.
For those unfamiliar with options trading, a call option grants the holder the right (but not the obligation) to buy the underlying asset at a predetermined price before or on the expiration date. The prevalence of a substantial number of call options at the $2,500 mark suggests that a significant portion of traders are optimistic about an upward surge in the price of ether beyond $2,500 by the expiration date at the end of February.
However, as of the latest update, the price of ether has experienced a slight dip of nearly 1% over the past 24 hours, now trading at $2,294 according to The Block’s Price Page.
In tandem with the options market buzz, the transaction volume on the Ethereum blockchain has soared to $102.9 billion for January, showcasing a remarkable 5% increase in economic throughput compared to December’s volume of $97.82 billion. This surge in blockchain activity is notably higher than the levels observed throughout 2023 and the latter part of 2022. To provide context, in September 2023, the Ethereum network’s transaction volume hit a low point at $49.12 billion.
All these dynamics point to an intriguing landscape for Ether, where heightened options trading activity and increased blockchain transactions underscore the evolving market sentiments and expectations for the cryptocurrency in early 2024.
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