Ethereum Price Holds Firm Despite 91% Crash in Leverage
Ethereum's price has held firm at around $2500 despite a significant drop in leverage on major exchanges. According to CryptoQuant, the combined Open Interest (OI) on Binance and Bybit fell by 90.9% over the past week to just $102 million.
The sharp decline in leverage is a welcome sign for Ethereum proponents as it indicates that the rally may be driven more by growing demand rather than rapid expansion of derivatives. In fact, the price has remained relatively stable despite much smaller margins being added through derivatives.
One reason for this stability is the growing support from institutional investors through spot ETFs. Since August 15th, U.S.-based Ethereum ETFs have seen approximately $1.5 billion in investment over 10 days, with BlackRock's ETHA accounting for a significant 71.9% of that total.
However, this increased demand from institutions now faces a direct supply test as whale 0x2Ea2 has moved substantial amounts of Ethereum onto major exchanges. The wallet deposited 40,881 ETH worth $100.67 million over two days, which could potentially absorb some of the spot demand and impact price stability.