CME Ethereum Options Hit Records After Shapella Activation

Trade volume and open interest (OI) in Ethereum options on CME have reached historic highs. The catalyst was the successful rollout of the Shapella hard fork, The Block reports.

For a partial April, the platform’s institutional-focused OI rose to $205 million, trading volume to $272 million, up from $94.7 million in March. The 187% increase is linked to activity in instruments based on the second-largest cryptocurrency. Investors reacted to the introduction of the option to withdraw coins from staking.

“Shapella reduced risks for Ethereum by closing the capital-formation loop. Validators gained the ability to withdraw cryptocurrency,” — explained Carlos Gonzalez, an analyst at 21Shares.

The expert noted a decline in liquidity risk, an area of focus for institutions.

“The largest weekly inflow of funds into staking, primarily via institution-focused platforms such as Stakefish, Staked.US, Kiln, Figment and Bitcoin Suisse— totalling 162,464 ETH over the last seven days, he calculated.

Gonzalez noted a drop to a three-year low of 30 DMA in Ethereum’s spot-to-futures turnover ratio, with activity recently outpacing on futures markets.

“The Merge has kept the metric in a narrow range since September 2022. This points to growing attractiveness of the system, as investors weigh how Proof-of-Stake and withdrawals from staking will affect Ethereum’s future,” — explained the specialist.

CME launched Ethereum options in September 2022.

In April 2023 the exchange expanded its list of options on Bitcoin and Ethereum, adding contracts that expire on every business day from Monday to Friday.

As reported, the amount of funds in liquid staking protocols has approached $18 billion.