Ethereum options open interest remains at 23% of futures as leverage dominates

Ethereum options open interest currently accounts for approximately 23% of total futures open interest, signaling a market preference for leveraged directional bets. Data from late September 2026 indicates that aggregated ETH futures and perpetual contracts hold between $17.8 billion and $18.1 billion in open interest, with the majority of options activity concentrated on Deribit. A high ratio of futures to options suggests that traders are increasingly stacking leverage.