A recent report reveals a significant forking in investor sentiment between Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC).

Bybit, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, published its latest Crypto Derivatives Analytics Report in collaboration with BlockScholes.

According to that report, market trends and trading signals across spot trading volume, futures, options, and perpetual contracts show a growing bullish sentiment toward ETH.

Investors are optimistic about ETH because of the imminent launch of the first Ether Spot ETFs in the United States. This optimism is reflected in ETH’s sustained volatility premium over BTC even amidst the recent market activity and sell-off.

Study findings

Despite the recent market slump, ETH futures have recovered in open interest quicker than BTC. This indicates a robust market narrative around ETH and its prospects. Also, higher trading volumes in ETH perpetual contracts suggest substantial long positions driven by strategic positioning ahead of market developments.

During the recent crypto sell-off, there was a surge in trade volume for perpetual swaps, with many traders closing their long positions.

“The larger trade volume activity in ETH suggests that traders were caught in long positions in greater magnitude, possibly due to positioning ahead of a expected ETF start-of-trading date,” the report read.

Additionally, ETH options market volatility remains high, particularly in anticipation of ETF approval, contrasting with BTC options’ more defensive stance.

Per the report, ETH options have a 10–15 point premium in volatility compared to BTC across all tenor points on the term structure. Additionally, ETH has recovered its volatility smile skew toward out-of-the-money (OTM) calls much faster than BTC.

There has also been significant trading volume in ETH calls, far surpassing the activity in its puts.

Eugene Cheung, Bybit’s Head of Institutions, commented “The latest data underscores ETH’s resilience and market appeal as we approach key regulatory milestones. Investors are demonstrably positioning themselves favorably amidst growing market expectations.”