According to data from the Deribit futures exchange, by the end of January, the number of pending call options for Ethereum contracts is higher than long positions. These calls are heading towards investors who prefer short positions. Investors are required to either add more assets to their contracts or accept their losses.
Luuk Strijers, the Commercial Director of Deribit, suggests that many investors predict that the price of Ethereum will gain value by the beginning of 2024. Strijers notes that the ratio between call and put options indicates a distribution that is more bullish.
The ratio of call options being below one indicates that the call volume exceeds the put volume, showing a bullish tendency in the market. An investor purchasing a call option indirectly indicates a bullish sentiment in the market, while an investor purchasing a put option indicates a bearish sentiment.
For the end-of-month expiration, within the approximately 974,000 pending call options, the largest group is at the $2,500 strike price. This suggests that many futures investors predict that the price of ETH will rise above this level by the end of December.
An increase in open interest indicates an inflow of new money into the market, increased participation, and potential liquidity. It also signals that new investors are showing interest in the cryptocurrency market and promise better price discovery.