Ethereum Dominates Futures Market as ETH Inflows Hit 4-Month High

Ethereum (ETH) traders are bracing for volatility amid a drastic surge in futures volumes in the last 24 hours. These volumes outpaced Bitcoin (BTC) as the level of conviction towards the altcoin’s future performance surged. Meanwhile, inflows to ETH products have increased to the highest level since February, highlighting growing demand from institutions.

Ethereum Tops Futures Trading Volumes

ETH is leading in 24-hour futures trading volumes, as data from Coinglass reveals that these volumes increased by 51% to $65 billion. These volumes were the highest in the entire crypto market, considering that Bitcoin’s 24-hour volumes stood at $60 billion.

The heightened speculative interest towards Ethereum is also reflected in the rising open interest, which stands at $36 billion. As CoinGape reported, ETH’s open interest hit $41 billion last week, its highest level in history.

In the last 24 hours, there was also a 114% spike in options open interest that came in at $8.7 billion, while options volume reached $1 billion after a 114% surge. The rise in these two metrics further reflects growing trading activity in the futures market as traders speculate on how the Ethereum price is going to perform in the future.

The majority of traders that are placing bets on ETH’s price outlook appear to be long buyers as the long/short ratio on both Binance and OKX stands above 1. Additionally, the top trader long/short ratio is at 3.15, as most of the leading traders on Binance open long bets projecting that the Ethereum price will rally.

Institutional Inflows Soar to 4-Month High

The recent weekly report from CoinShares reveals that inflows to ETH products reached $583 million last week, which was the highest level since February 2025. The largest altcoin ranked second in inflows during the week, as Bitcoin’s flows came in at $1.3 billion.

With these inflows, Ethereum outperformed all altcoins during the week, which barely registered flows of $25 million combined. The latest data has brought ETH’s month-to-date flows to $879 million, with much of this coming from ETFs and institutional buying.

Data from SoSoValue shows that last week’s inflows to spot ETH ETFs reached $528 million, which was the highest weekly inflows in 2025. At the same time, the ongoing efforts by institutions such as Sharplink Gaming to launch ETH-based treasuries are also behind the surging accumulation.

Will ETH Price React?

Ethereum price appears calm today, June 16, as it trades at $2,616 with a 3.8% gain in 24 hours. However, as futures volumes soar and institutions flock to gain exposure through ETH-based products, the price will likely react. One of the effects may be a surge in volatility, as speculative trading activity is often associated with volatile price movements due to both short and long liquidations.

ETH price may also react with an upward move as the growing demand strengthens the recent case made by CoinGape that an Ethereum supply crunch is looming. With falling supply on exchanges and more people looking to buy ETH, it may create a squeeze whereby the price surges upwards.

As the short-term to mid-term outlook becomes favorable, the long-term Ethereum price forecast highlights what to expect from ETH from 2025 to 2030.