Ethereum Overtakes Bitcoin in Futures Market—ETH Catalysts in Sight?

• Ethereum leads the futures market with $62.1 billion volume, signaling rising trader interest and potential catalysts.
• Price targets $4,000 as bullish flag and golden cross patterns align with strong ETF inflows.

The second-largest digital asset, Ethereum, has overtaken Bitcoin in 24-hour futures trading volume. The coin recorded $62.1 billion compared to Bitcoin’s $61.7 billion in this metric. This rare move suggests that traders are beginning to shift their focus from Bitcoin to Ethereum. Market participants believe that the update is possibly due to upcoming Ethereum-specific developments.

Ethereum’s $62.1B Futures Volume Sparks Attention

Ethereum futures trading volume has surpassed a significant milestone, surpassing Bitcoin for the first time. It is worth noting that this flip is not standard. For context, Bitcoin mostly holds the top spot in futures activity. This Ethereum’s lead shows something has changed in trader behavior.

On a data board shared by Glassnode, Ethereum also shows a 66.95% volume jump in 24 hours, with open interest standing at $26 billion. Its open interest ratio to market cap sits at 0.076, a fair level, signaling decent-sized bets without being overheated.

Furthermore, despite a negative funding rate of -0.0048%, Ethereum futures activity shows healthy demand and positioning. It shows that traders are gearing up for movement, even though price volatility is not yet fully defined.

Nevertheless, Bitcoin still has a higher open interest at $57.6 billion, but its volume increase (87.89%) does not necessarily reflect a clear advantage. Per the current outlook, Ethereum’s faster pace and trader focus have pushed it ahead at least for now.

It is important to note that this flip, although narrow, indicates a prevailing mood in the market. The increased volume suggests Ethereum is being watched more closely, and some believe this is just the beginning.

In another major development, as noted earlier, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed introducing a new cap on gas limits. This was developed to enhance the network’s security and efficiency.

CNF also reported that Spanish banking group BBVA has expanded its digital services. The firm introduced Ethereum and Bitcoin trading and custody features for retail customers in Spain.

Ethereum Price Eyes $4,000 Amid Golden Cross

According to Marketcap data, Ethereum’s current trading price of $2,788.71, atop a 3% growth, is showing early signs of a major technical breakout.

The report indicated that since May, the coin has been consolidating after a rally that nearly doubled its value from $1,390. This consolidation forms the lower section of a bullish flag, a pattern that often signals trend continuation.

The full flagpole points to a possible surge toward $4,015, just under last year’s peak of $4,080. Meanwhile, the appearance of a golden cross is a technical event where the 50-day moving average rises above the 200-day moving average. This crossover often signals the start of a strong bullish trend.

In addition, growing talk around the Trump-backed blue-chip ETF, which includes Ethereum and Bitcoin, is boosting sentiment. Ethereum is expected to make up a significant chunk of that fund, and recent data shows $4.5 billion in inflows over the past nine weeks.

As highlighted in our previous news brief, if demand continues to rise while exchange supply falls, Ethereum’s price path toward $4,000 looks more realistic. Again, if it breaks below $2,125, that bullish setup may be at risk. Until then, both charts and volume suggest Ethereum is building strength.