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Ethereum (ETH) options positioning is turning more bullish on paper, with call contracts now making up nearly two-thirds of total open interest, even as traders actively seek downside protection around the $1,900 level. The mix suggests a market leaning toward upside scenarios while remaining sensitive to near-term drawdown risk.

As of Sunday 00:00 UTC, data compiled by Coinglass showed total Ethereum options open interest (OI) at approximately $8.48 billion, down about 0.24% from the prior day’s roughly $8.50 billion. Calls accounted for 62.98% of open interest, while puts represented 37.02%, underscoring a clear tilt toward ‘bullish positioning’ in outstanding contracts.

Trading activity, however, told a more balanced story. Total ETH options volume over the past 24 hours was about $820 million, with puts slightly leading at 52.23% versus calls at 47.77%. By venue, Deribit remained the dominant marketplace with roughly $342.6 million in volume, followed by Bybit at about $217.96 million, Binance at $127.01 million, OKX at $110.40 million, and CME at around $4.10 million.

The largest concentrations of open interest were clustered in mid-year expiry calls on Deribit, led by the $2,500 call (June 26 expiry) and the $2,000 call (June 26 expiry). Another notable OI pocket appeared in a far out-of-the-money $6,500 call expiring March 27 on Deribit, a strike often associated with longer-tail ‘upside convexity’ bets rather than near-term directional trading.

In contrast, the most actively traded contracts over the last 24 hours were dominated by downside hedges. The top contract by volume was the $1,900 put expiring June 26 on Deribit. Next was a $1,400 call expiring June 26 on Bybit, followed by another $1,900 put—this one expiring March 23 on Binance—indicating persistent demand for protection near a psychologically important round-number zone.

Overall, the data points to a bifurcated derivatives market: ‘open interest skew’ favors calls, but ‘flow’ is leaning toward puts, a pattern often seen when traders maintain longer-term upside exposure while buying shorter-dated insurance against volatility. The gap between positioning and activity will likely remain a key signal for how confidently the market is pricing ETH’s next directional move.

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