Ethereum Holds Near $2,500 as Leverage Drops 91% and ETF Inflows Grow
Key Takeaways
- •Combined leveraged exposure on Binance and Bybit fell 90.9% to $102 million by August 30 after rising earlier in August.
- •Ethereum stayed close to $2,500 even as derivatives positioning unwound sharply.
- •U.S.-listed spot Ethereum ETFs took in nearly $1.5 billion over 10 trading days, with BlackRock’s ETHA responsible for about 71.9% of the inflows.
- •Wallet 0x2Ea2 deposited 40,881 ETH, worth about $100.67 million, to several exchanges over two days.
- •The wallet still holds 10,506 ETH, which could add more selling pressure if moved to exchanges.
Ethereum’s price has stayed near $2,500 even as traders sharply reduced leveraged bets, suggesting the recent rally is being supported more by spot demand than by borrowed positions.
Between August 15 and August 22, traders increased leveraged exposure as ETH moved toward $2,500. Combined open interest on Binance and Bybit rose by $1.12 billion during that week. That trend then reversed quickly. By August 30, combined leverage on both exchanges had fallen 90.9% to $102 million.
On Binance, open interest declined from $843 million to $94 million. On Bybit, it dropped from $277 million to $8 million. Despite the steep decline in derivatives activity, ETH remained near $2,500 and did not fall in step with the leverage unwind, a sign that market positioning alone was not driving the move.
ETF inflows are replacing leverage
Spot Ethereum ETFs in the United States have absorbed much of the demand as leveraged trading cooled. U.S.-listed funds recorded inflows in every session since August 15.
Over those 10 trading days, the funds took in close to $1.5 billion combined. BlackRock’s ETHA fund accounted for about $1.02 billion of that total, or 71.9% of all ETF inflows during the period.
At ETH prices between $2,400 and $2,500, that amount of buying represents roughly 570,000 to 630,000 ETH. Unlike leveraged futures positioning, ETF purchases create direct spot-market demand without adding derivatives exposure, making them a different source of support than the leverage that recently unwound.
Whale wallet moves $100.67 million to exchanges
A large ETH holder, wallet 0x2Ea2, has started moving coins onto exchanges. Over two days, the wallet deposited 40,881 ETH, worth about $100.67 million, across Binance, OKX, Bybit, Kraken and Gate.
One transfer alone sent 8,629 ETH to Binance in a single day. A transfer to an exchange does not prove the coins were sold, but it does make them available for sale.
The activity matters because any selling from the wallet could offset some of the buying pressure generated by ETF inflows. According to the latest data, the wallet still holds 10,506 ETH, worth around $25.52 million.
If that remaining balance also moves to exchanges, ETF inflows would need to absorb additional selling pressure for ETH to remain near current levels.
