Binance now holds more than 44% of global Ethereum open interest, with ETH open positions on the exchange reaching roughly 3.7 million ETH, a record level. Rising open interest points to fresh positioning and leveraged activity in the futures market, though the metric on its own does not determine where price moves next.
Record ETH futures positioning on Binance
Analyst Darkfost said ETH is still trading about 67% below its all-time high. Some derivatives and on-chain watchers see that pullback as a sign the asset has entered oversold territory, which has led some investors to treat current levels as a possible buying zone. Darkfost also said that while Binance’s ETH open interest has hit a new high, growing market uncertainty has made the setup harder to read.
Trading flow has also shifted. Binance’s average weekly Taker Buy/Sell Ratio has risen from 0.95 to 1.0 in recent weeks, suggesting order flow is moving back toward balance after a long stretch of seller dominance. At the same time, geopolitical tension between the United States and Iran continues to weigh on risk appetite.
Ethereum wallets move closer to 200 million
According to Santiment, the number of non-empty Ethereum wallets has climbed to nearly 195 million. Bitcoin, by comparison, has about 59 million non-empty wallets, which puts Ethereum’s count roughly 230% higher. Ethereum would need around 5 million more wallets to cross the 200 million mark.
Santiment said wallet growth has continued even with negative market sentiment. Reports cited in the source attribute much of that expansion to DeFi activity, staking, and broader on-chain usage, indicating that network engagement is not being driven only by short-term price expectations.
Weak price action contrasts with firm network data
Recent market indicators and social sentiment have stayed negative on Ethereum for months, yet long-term wallet growth has not shown a major drop. At the time referenced by CoinGecko, ETH was trading at $1,651.62, up 0.70% over 24 hours but down 7.63% on the week. Its 24-hour trading volume stood at about $12.4 billion.
The latest data leaves a mixed picture: Binance is taking a record share of ETH derivatives activity while Ethereum’s wallet base keeps expanding. That points to speculative interest and organic network usage rising at the same time. Market observers also caution that open interest alone is not a price forecast, especially while geopolitical pressure and trading patterns remain in flux.