Ethereum Price Indicators Point at Buy Despite Sell-Off After Merge

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The price of Ethereum (ETH) was expected to surge significantly following the blockchain’s transition to proof-of-stake (PoS). Although many have sold off massive volumes of ETH in a bid to take profits, the asset’s derivatives data indicates that there are still profitability opportunities with the crypto market’s second most valuable asset. 

The Ethereum Merge, which finalized the blockchain’s transition to PoS, was one of the most highly anticipated events in the crypto market’s history. The Merge was especially hyped, considering the functionality benefits that it would bring to the smart contract network and the opportunity for investors to stake their ETH and earn passive income. 

With this level of attention, investors swooped into ETH, using derivatives to speculate on the asset. Open interest in Ether futures soared to an all-time high of $8 billion in August, surpassing even Bitcoin. 

Notional ETH trading on Derbit between September 1 and 14 reached over $5 billion, with institutions making up most of this number. These institutions speculated using block trades - a privately-negotiated sale made over the counter. The Bank of America had noted that the Merge would see an influx of institutional adoption for ETH, especially with more of these institutions taking advantage of the Ethereum blockchain’s reduced energy consumption and the opportunity to stake ETH. 

Currently, open interest in ETH futures stands at $6.87 billion. And although the asset’s price has dropped since the Merge, it would appear that most of the derivatives volume trading occurred after the