Ethereum (ETH) is consolidating near $2,695 as of 09:40 UTC on Thursday, October 1, and the steadiness in the Ethereum price is coming less from leveraged traders than from the cash market, according to COINOTAG.

Aggregated derivatives data on Coinglass shows that open interest across ETH derivatives has fallen to 12.49 million ETH, its lowest level since March. The decline underscores that the ongoing consolidation is being sustained primarily by spot market activity rather than by leveraged positioning in futures.

Open interest measures the total number of outstanding derivative contracts — including futures and perpetual swaps — that have not yet been closed or settled. It is one of the most widely watched gauges of leverage in crypto markets: rising open interest typically reflects new capital entering leveraged positions, while a falling reading points to contracts being closed or unwound. Coinglass tracks the metric in ETH terms, meaning the 12.49 million ETH figure represents the aggregate size of open contracts across major trading venues rather than their dollar value.

Ethereum is the native asset of the Ethereum blockchain, a proof-of-stake network that hosts a large share of decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and stablecoin activity. ETH futures and perpetual contracts trade across major centralized and decentralized venues, and shifts in open interest are commonly used by analysts to gauge whether price movements are supported by leveraged speculation or by spot demand. In the current episode, the data indicates that cash-market activity, not leverage, has been the steadying force holding the price near $2,695. Tracking the gauge from this multi-month low gives readers a concrete reference point for the consolidation: under the metric's own conventions, a rebound in open interest would signal new capital entering leveraged positions, while a further decline would point to more contracts being closed or unwound.

This content was first published on INOTAG.