Ether (ETH) traders are increasing their leveraged long positions despite a 44% drop in the ETH price in 2026. The number of open Ether futures contracts on Binance has surged to a record high of 3.7 million ETH, with the exchange accounting for over 44% of all Ether futures contracts.

Darkfost cryptocurrency analyst excellent that Ether futures activity has improved despite increasing uncertainty resulting from geopolitical tensions and weakening economic conditions.

The analyst noted that Binance currently holds almost 3.7 million ETH in open futures, which is a novel record in the history of open interest in Ether on the exchange.

ETH open interest value on Binance. Source: CryptoQuant

An improvement in risk appetite for long positions also emerged as the average weekly bid-sell ratio of willing bidders on Binance increased to 1.0 from 0.95 after months of activity by sellers. A reading near 1.0 indicates a more balanced market after an extended period of selling pressure.

The trend goes beyond Binance. Across all exchanges, the taker’s bid-ask ratio has increased to 1 from 0.94 over the past two weeks, indicating that buyers are becoming more busy in placing market orders than sellers.

Ether: Taker buy and sell ratio on all exchanges. Source: CryptoQuant

At the same time, there is speculative activity acceleration faster than spot demand. Binance’s perp-spot volume imbalance index rose to around 0.90, near a record high, while its 30-day Z-score reached 2.53.

Perpetual futures volume was close to 5.57 million ETH compared to around 290,000 ETH in spot trading. This means that leveraged participation is growing much faster than activity in the underlying market.

ETH Perp-Spot Volume Imbalance Indicator. Source: CryptoQuant

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The risk of ETH liquidation remains on both sides

Market analyst Amr Taha highlighted growing divide in stock market positioning. Binance recorded a 30-day escalate in open trades of 616,400 ETH, the highest reading since 2019. During the same period, Gate.io recorded a decrease of 631,700 ETH.

Open interest on many exchanges, 30-day change. Source: CryptoQuant

Liquidation heat maps show nearly $8 billion in brief positions concentrated in the $2,200 to $2,400 range. These levels stand out as key liquidity zones if the ETH price starts to rise.

However, short-term positioning remains highly leveraged on both sides. About $1.72 billion in cumulative long liquidation exposure is below the current price of $1,500, while nearly $1.90 billion in brief liquidation exposure is concentrated near $1,800.

The narrow gap between these pools highlights a market where both bullish and bearish positions carry significant risk of liquidation.

ETH liquidation map. Source: CoinGlass

Related: ETH may crash to 1k dollars if key support breaks: will futures traders step in?