Ether is trading at $3,034 as of November 30, as futures and options markets are showing intense activity across CME, Binance, and Deribit, indicating a closely balanced derivatives environment heading into December.
Ether derivatives activity strengthens with strong participation across CME and Deribit
The Ether derivatives market has recorded steady trading this week, with total open interest in Ethereum futures hovering around $36.49 billion across exchanges. According to statistics from Coinglass.com, the total open interest is approximately 12.04 million ETH, with CME, Binance, and OKX continuing to dominate in terms of notional value positions.
CME maintains an open interest of 2.17 million ETH, equivalent to $6.57 billion and a market share of 18.01%. Binance follows with 2.46 million ETH and $7.45 billion in open interest, accounting for over 20% of the sector. OKX holds 732,710 ETH worth $2.22 billion, recording just over 6% of the market share. Together, the three exchanges account for more than half of the total ETH futures exposure.
The open interest trend over the past 24 hours shows a gradual change in direction. CME rose 1.26% and OKX rose 1.17%. Kucoin led the day with an expansion of 2.79%. In contrast, BingX recorded the steepest decline, dropping 16.65% over the same period, while MEXC fell 3.35%. These moves highlight the disconnect between institutional-oriented platforms and retail-focused venues.
The broader futures trend reflects a cooling period after this year's midsummer expansion, as nominal open interest peaked near late August and has since fallen back. Current levels, while still high compared to early 2025, are well below previous highs, suggesting cautious participation rather than aggressive repositioning.
In the options market, traders still place critical importance on call weights. The total open interest for ETH options is 65.45% allocated to calls, while 34.55% is allocated to puts. The call is 1.91 million ETH, but the lag is 1.01 million ETH. In the past 24 hours, call volume reached 86,850 ETH and put activity reached 59,309 ETH, reinforcing similar trends.
Deribit leads the pack in Ether options, with most of its large open positions concentrated in contracts expiring in December 2025. The most popular one is the ETH-26DEC25-6000-C contract, which has 82,048 ETH associated with it, followed by the 4,000 call contract and the 7,000 call contract. Simply put, traders are piling most of their bets into the $4,000 to $7,000 price range for long-term options.
read more: Prediction Markets Polymarket and Calci Assign Mixed Odds to Bitcoin’s Prospects of Above $100,000 in 2025
The past 24 hours tell the same story. Deribit once again took the top spot, with a trading volume of 16,155 ETH for its 6,000 call contracts. This was followed by a 27MAR26-500 put contract with 9,164 ETH traded. Bybit and OKX also contributed to strong trading volumes, but Deribit held a clear lead.
Maximum pain levels for ETH vary by venue. For Deribit, the current maximum pain for upcoming maturities is hovering near the $3,000 range, but will rise significantly for the March and June 2026 maturities. Binance’s ETH Max Pain distribution shows wider dispersion, with a noticeable spike towards the late December expiry.
Ether derivatives data shows that traders prefer long-term upside exposure while maintaining moderate hedging, suggesting the market is stable but requires caution. Ether is held above $3,000, and futures and options indicators indicate stable positioning rather than speculative escalation.
Frequently asked questions ❓
- What is ETH futures open interest? This tracks the total amount of outstanding Ether futures contracts that remain active across exchanges.
- Why is the call-to-put ratio of ETH options important? This indicates whether a trader is leaning towards upside exposure or downside protection.
- What is the max pane in ether option? This is the price level at which most options expire worthless, and is often the point at which they become locked in near expiration.
- Which exchanges control ETH derivatives? CME, Binance, OKX, and Deribit lead in futures and options trading on a notional basis.
