Ethereum Options Skew Call-Heavy as Short-Term Hedging Activity Rises

Ethereum (ETH) options positioning tilted modestly lower in aggregate open interest on Tuesday UTC, even as short-dated trading concentrated heavily in a near-the-money $1,600 call on Bybit—an indication that traders are simultaneously leaning bullish in positioning while actively managing near-term downside risk.

According to CoinGlass data captured at 12:50 a.m. ET on July 1 (04:50 UTC), total Ethereum options 'open interest' (OI)—the notional value of outstanding contracts—stood at $3.564 billion, down 1.00% from $3.601 billion a day earlier. Over the same window, 24-hour options turnover was approximately $685.28 million, underscoring sustained activity despite the marginal reduction in outstanding exposure.

The composition of OI continued to favor bullish positioning: calls accounted for 57.35% of total open interest versus 42.65% for puts. However, the flow picture over the past 24 hours told a different story, with puts slightly leading at 53.22% of traded volume compared with 46.78% for calls. Market participants often read this divergence as a sign that longer-dated positioning is skewed toward upside scenarios, while near-term trading is more focused on 'hedging demand' and protection against short-term drawdowns.

On the positioning side, the largest concentrations of open interest remained on Deribit’s December 25 expiries, led by the $3,200 call, followed by the $2,200 call and the $3,500 call. The clustering of exposure at these higher strikes suggests that a meaningful share of the market continues to express a medium-term view that ETH could retest higher price levels later in the year, or that structured strategies are using calls at those strikes to shape asymmetric payoff profiles.

By contrast, the past day’s most actively traded contracts were concentrated on Bybit’s July 1 expiries, with the $1,600 call ranking first by volume, followed by the $1,550 put and the $1,650 call. The mix—heavy interest on both adjacent calls and a nearby put—points to active positioning around a pivotal price zone, often associated with 'gamma' and short-dated volatility strategies where traders adjust exposure quickly as spot prices move.

Options allow traders to make leveraged bets on price direction or hedge existing holdings. 'Call options' grant the right to buy an asset at a predefined price by a future date, while 'put options' grant the right to sell. In practice, shifts in open interest versus trading volume—and the call/put split within each—can help distinguish between the buildup of medium-term exposure and short-term tactical hedging. Tuesday’s data showed a market that remains structurally call-heavy in outstanding positions, while recent trading leaned more defensive, reflecting a two-sided approach to risk in the current ETH landscape.