Binance now accounts for about 49% of Ethereum futures open interest across major centralized exchanges, according to on-chain analyst Darkfost. The share is the exchange’s highest since 2023, even as Ethereum has gone through a recent price pullback.
Since late last month, ETH has fallen roughly 10% from $2,775 to around $2,500. During that stretch, Binance’s dollar-denominated Ethereum open interest fell by about $600 million, but the exchange’s ETH-denominated open interest recovered to about 2.46 million ETH, suggesting the amount of ether tied up in futures positions did not contract as sharply as the dollar figures implied.
Market share climbs during ETH weakness
Darkfost said Binance’s portion of Ethereum open interest among major centralized exchanges rose to roughly 49%. That pushed the platform to its largest share of the ETH futures market since 2023.
The move came during a broader decline in Ethereum’s price rather than in a period of market expansion. As ETH fell from $2,775 to $2,500, Binance still increased its relative weight in the futures market, indicating that activity on rival venues did not keep pace over the same period.
Liquidations hit leveraged longs
The correction in Ethereum also led to a wave of forced position closures. Over a 24-hour period spanning October 8 and 9, about $345 million in Ethereum long positions were liquidated.
Those liquidations underline how quickly leveraged exposure was unwound as the market moved lower. The figures described in the report point to a sharp reset in bullish positioning during the sell-off.
Dollar open interest fell, but ETH terms held up
Binance’s dollar-denominated Ethereum open interest declined by around $600 million during the pullback. On its own, that drop could suggest a meaningful reduction in futures exposure.
However, the picture looks different when measured in ETH rather than in dollars. Binance’s open interest recovered to about 2.46 million ETH, which indicates that the actual amount of ether committed to futures positions did not shrink significantly even as the asset’s market price fell.
What the data suggests next
The main takeaway from the figures is that Binance strengthened its position in Ethereum futures during a volatile stretch for the market. According to Darkfost’s reading of the data, the amount of Ethereum deployed on Binance’s futures platform did not materially decrease during the correction.
For now, the confirmed data points are Binance’s roughly 49% market share, the recent ETH decline to $2,500 from $2,775, the $345 million in long liquidations on October 8 and 9, and the recovery in ETH-denominated open interest to about 2.46 million ETH. Whether that concentration persists will depend on how positioning evolves across major exchanges after the latest sell-off.
Source: en.bloomingbit.io