ETH options OI falls to $5.79 billion as $2,500 put leads volume

The Ethereum options market contracted while still holding a bias toward upside positioning. Short-term trading also leaned slightly toward calls, though the most active contract by volume was a put.

As of Oct. 13 at 11:21 UTC, Ethereum options open interest stood at $5.79 billion, down 2.11% from $5.92 billion a day earlier. Ethereum options volume totaled about $1.25 billion.

Open interest was split between calls at 61.49% and puts at 38.51%. By 24-hour volume, calls accounted for 51.17% and puts for 48.83%.

The open-interest mix shows medium-term positioning remained more heavily allocated to upside exposure. The volume split also put calls just ahead of puts, suggesting short-term flows were marginally tilted toward further gains rather than defensive positioning.

The contracts with the largest open interest were the $3,200 call on Deribit expiring Dec. 25, 2026, followed by the $2,200 call on Deribit expiring Dec. 25, 2026, and the $2,300 call on Deribit expiring Dec. 25, 2026.

The top contracts by 24-hour volume were the $2,500 put on Deribit expiring Oct. 16, 2026, the $2,600 call on Binance expiring Oct. 14, 2026, and the $3,500 call on Bybit expiring Oct. 16, 2026.

Editor's note: Options are derivatives that can be used to take leveraged views on an underlying asset or hedge existing positions. A call option gives the holder the right to buy at a set price, while a put option gives the holder the right to sell. Open interest measures the total number of outstanding contracts and indicates the scale of positions still in the market.

The balance between calls and puts, along with changes in open interest and volume, is used to distinguish medium-term positioning from short-term trading flows. Rising open interest can indicate new position building, while a high call share in open interest combined with stronger put volume may point to simultaneous demand for downside protection or volatility trading.