Ethereum’s fourth straight week of price gains has led to a bullish bet of $3200.
Ethereum traders are rebuilding bullish exposure to the second-largest cryptocurrency, while derivatives markets are seeing new demand for bullish bets.
According to CryptoSlate’s Data shows ETH is up about 11% this month, helped by a four-week rally that is the longest in almost a year.
This upward trend has pushed ETH to around $2,330, its highest price level since February, and is on track for its first consecutive monthly gains since July and August 2025.
As a result, ETH’s price performance has brought market attention back to the $3,000 level after several months of weakness relative to Bitcoin.
Ethereum options trader position for $3,200
As the largest cryptocurrency options venue, Deribit provides the clearest representation of new bullish trades.
Data from the trading platform shows that open interest for ETH call options has accumulated at around $3,200 strike, with open interest standing at more than $322 million. The $2,500 strike price option is closely followed by open interest of about $320 million.
A call option gives the trader the right to purchase an asset at a set price. Typically, the closer the native token gets to the event, the more it gains value.
For ETH, the concentration around $2,500 and $3,200 shows that traders are again looking to move beyond the current recovery range.
Meanwhile, large open interest does not mean that all positions are direct bullish bets. Options activities may include hedging, spread trading, volatility strategies and market maker exposure.
ETH ETF flows recorded their longest streak of inflows this year.
US spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) took a pause after delivering one of the strongest demand signals ahead of the recent rally.
The 10 funds raised more than $633 million during a 10-day rolling inflow that began April 9 and ended April 22, according to data from SoSo Value. This is the longest continuous inflow this year and the longest continuous inflow since June 2025.
However, the current inflow streak ended on April 23, with the fund seeing net outflows of $75.94 million, marking its first negative session since early April.
Nonetheless, the continued inflows help support the view that regulated investors are returning to Ethereum exposure months after Bitcoin attracted larger institutional bids. ETF flows are closely watched because they show demand through spot instruments rather than through leveraged positions in the derivatives market.
Alphractal data confirmed this trend and pointed out that the Ethereum Smart Money Flow Index, a proprietary measure of institutional activity in ETH, has also shown positive differences in price for several weeks.
This means that demand for funds was improving before a recovery in spot prices became more visible.
However, the latest leaks show that Ethereum has yet to show the same ETF-led consistency that supported Bitcoin during its stronger rallies.
For ETH, the fund flow situation is improving, but it is not yet strong enough to sustain the market on its own.
Buyers are gradually returning to the market.
In addition to continued ETF inflows, Binance order flow data indicates a gradual improvement in demand rather than aggressive accumulation.
According to data from CryptoQuant, the exchange’s cumulative volume delta (CVD) recently hit a positive figure of around 48,400. CVD tracks the net difference between purchases and sales. A positive number means that buy orders are greater than sell orders.
This suggests that ETH is rising not because of increased speculative leverage, but because buyers have returned to the market, helping the token stabilize after an initial decline.
Meanwhile, the relationship between ETH’s price and order flow has also strengthened. The correlation coefficient is 0.66, indicating a moderately strong relationship between purchasing activity and price movements.
However, the signal remains measured as ETH is still trading below previous highs and the CVD reading does not show the type of strong spot accumulation that is usually associated with confirmed breakouts. Instead, it represents a readjustment phase following mild stretching.
This maintains the ongoing ETH upward trend, depending on whether order flow continues to improve.
Stronger CVD numbers would support the fact that spot buyers are validating moves seen in options and ETFs. Due to stalling, rallies may be more exposed to speculative positioning.
ETH’s leverage is rising.
Despite these optimistic indicators, Binance’s CryptoQuant data reveals a key source of risk for ETH’s rise.
The exchange’s leverage ratio surpassed its price for the first time in months. If leverage expands faster than spot price increases, this indicates that traders are adding borrowed exposure faster than investors are purchasing tokens outright.
This pattern can emerge during an early recovery when traders attempt to position ahead of a breakout before spot flows fully confirm the move.
In particular, this can support quick profits while market conditions remain favorable. Additionally, a price reversal may increase the risk of a forced sell.
However, leveraged positions are more sensitive to movements against them. If ETH fails to maintain its recent uptrend, long positions may be liquidated, putting selling pressure on the bears.
This leverage signal contrasts with a more constructive set of indicators. Ethereum has posted its fourth straight week of gains, Deribit traders are targeting higher strike prices, the ETF recently saw inflows for the 10th straight day, and CVD shows that buy orders outnumber sell orders.
But the risk is that those signals don’t travel at the same speed.
This is because ETH needs to close this gap to advance towards $3,200. Spot buyers must continue to absorb supply, ETF flows must stabilize, and leverage must stop rising faster than prices.
Without this confirmation, losses can be amplified in the event of a failed breakout due to exposure to the same derivatives that underpin the bounce.
