Ethereum Futures lead the charge – Bitcoin dominance takes a hit

Key Takeaways

Ethereum Futures Volume hit $162.6 billion, surpassing Bitcoin share, as Open Interest and Funding Rates rose alongside strong spot demand. Can ETH sustain dominance over BTC futures?

Since reaching a new all-time high two days ago, Ethereum [ETH] has slightly retraced to $4660. At press time, ETH traded at $4763, up 1.01% on daily charts.

Amid the market slowdown, the altcoin has particularly signaled a shift in market dynamics, with Futures interest taking over. 

Ethereum Futures dominance surges

According to CryptoQuant analyst Maartunn, Ethereum Futures Trading Volume reached $162.6 billion, about 50% of the total market.

Source: CryptoQuant

Naturally, this shift dented Bitcoin’s [BTC] historical dominance and signaled capital rotation toward ETH.

Take Bitcoin OG, for example. This holder moved away from Bitcoin to ETH and now holds 135,265 ETH worth $581 million in long positions, as per Lookonchain.

Source: CoinGlass

On top of that, Ethereum’s Open Interest spiked from $59 billion to $70 billion. Such a gigantic spike further validated our observation regarding steady capital inflow into Ethereum Futures. 

Often, when capital steadily flows into Futures, it reflects investors either demanding long or short positions. 

Source: CryptoQuant

Interestingly, when we look at Ethereum’s Funding Rates, it has surged to a 7-month high of 0.026.

When rates hold positive, they suggest long demand is outpacing shorts. Having said that, the bulk of inflows leaned bullish, with traders eyeing more upside.

Spot demand stays strong

Despite Futures dominance, ETH spot demand also remained resilient.

According to Coinalyze, ETH posted $90.8k in Buy Volume against $85k in Sell Volume, giving a Buy Sell Delta of 5.6k — a sign of accumulation.

Source: Coinalyze

Exchange data echoed this view. On the 24th of August, Ethereum’s Exchange Netflow recorded a negative 26.6k ETH, meaning outflows surpassed inflows.

Source: CryptoQuant

Typically, a negative netflow suggests more buyers compared to sellers, which leads to a stronger upward pressure on prices. 

Another leg up for ETH?

AMBCrypto’s analysis shows Ethereum is enjoying massive demand from both Futures and spot markets.

These conditions position the altcoin for more gains on its price charts. Therefore, if demand for ETH remains constant, we may see a recovery from the recent pullback and ETH reach the highly anticipated $5k mark.

However, fading demand may drag it toward $4205 support.