Speculators have built the largest leverage short position in Ethereum (ETH) history, raising concerns about the upcoming prospects for cryptocurrency.
Ether's net leverage short positions have skyrocketed to a record -18,438 contracts, according to the latest CME CFTC data shared on August 18th.
The data highlighted a sharp rise in bearish bets from 2024 to 2025. This is because institutional traders appear to be positioning more aggressively against Ethereum than ever before.
In particular, the surge in shorts shows a growing skepticism about ETH's ability to maintain that rating. Such extreme positioning often shows deep bearish feelings, but if Ethereum unexpectedly stabilizes or recovers, it also allows for a potential short slant stage.
Ethereum price analysis
This record short is based on an upward trajectory as Ethereum is driven primarily by institutional demand through a large influx of spot exchange trade funds led by companies such as BlackRock. This momentum has pushed Ethereum to a $5,000 resistance level.
At the press conference, Ethereum traded for $4,280, exceeding 5% in the last 24 hours, down about 0.1% per week.
Despite the pullback, Ethereum is well above the 50-day simple moving average (SMA) of $3,494.65 and far above the 200-day SMA of $2,621.11, unharmedly confirming a strong bullish trend with long-term momentum. The wide gap between the average signal sustained the upward force.
However, Ethereum's 14-day RSI of 66.97 indicates it is approaching the territory that was over-acquired, suggesting that short-term integration or pullback is possible, even if the broader trend remains positive.
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