Binance ETH Open Interest Surges Past $7.1B Amid Market Repositioning

As we welcome the new year, Ethereum has successfully broken past its long-standing price resistance around $3,000. Market analyst Amr Taha indicates that this price surge has been accompanied by notable shifts in the derivatives market, which reflect a significant change in investor positioning.

Key Takeaways

Ethereum has crossed the $3,000 resistance level, hitting a new peak above $3,100.
ETH's open interest on Binance surged to $7.1 billion, showing a 12% increase.
Most new positions opened are long positions, indicating bullish market sentiment.
Increased urgency among buyers suggests strong market conviction.
Recent price gains were influenced by a short-squeeze at the $3,100 level, leading to a caution on potential market traps.

Ethereum

Ethereum Traders Embrace Long Positions as 2026 Begins

In a QuickTake post on CryptoQuant, Amr Taha provides a detailed analysis of the Binance derivatives market following Ethereum's recent spike in early 2026. Taha points out an impressive rise in ETH open interest on this leading exchange, describing it as “one of the strongest single-day increases seen lately.”

As the spot price surged above $3,100, CryptoQuant data recorded that ETH open interest increased from around $6.2 billion to approximately $7.1 billion, representing a 12% growth in just one day. Taha emphasizes that this rise in open interest, coinciding with price appreciation, indicates that traders are likely opening new positions rather than just covering shorts.

Ethereum Source: CryptoQuant

Additional metrics reveal that the ETH Cumulative Volume Delta—an indicator measuring the net difference between buying and selling volume—also increased alongside open interest. This suggests a bullish trend, with new long positions dominating the market. Furthermore, ETH buyers showed increased urgency, opting for market orders instead of passive limit bids, illustrating a strong demand to engage immediately rather than waiting for lower prices.

Is This Just a Bull Trap?

In analyzing the liquidation heatmap for the ETH derivatives market, Amr Taha identified crucial price developments. He noted that ETH’s recent price increase was significantly influenced by a short-squeeze effect around the $3,100 mark. Specifically, when Ethereum reached this price, over-leveraged short traders were compelled to defend their positions, creating market demand that led to a rapid price spike.

Although the recent price increase and open interest boost seem positive, Taha cautions that forced liquidations often lead to temporary resistance zones on lower timeframes, particularly when rising funding rates are involved. He further explains that Ethereum's price movements appear to be heavily influenced by leverage and emotions, rather than based on solid structural indicators, indicating potential for both gain and risk.

As of now, the notable cryptocurrency is trading at $3,087, reflecting a 2.51% increase within the last day.

Ethereum ETH trading at $3,087.05 on the daily trading chart | Source: ETHUSDT chart on Tradingview.com