Binance overtakes CME in ETH futures open interest

Binance holds 3.7 million ETH in open Ethereum futures contracts. This marks a new all-time high for the exchange in ETH terms. This volume accounts for more than 44% of the total Ethereum open interest across all venues. As of September 21, the Ethereum open interest on Binance reached $6.58 billion. This represents a 37% increase from the level in late August, when open interest stood at $4.8 billion. Binance surpassed CME as the largest venue for Ethereum futures open interest, and it holds 2.76 million ETH worth $8.24 billion. CME holds 1.69 million ETH, worth $5.03 billion. This market shift occurred as Binance recorded a 30-day open interest increase of 616,400 ETH, while Gate.io posted a decline of 631,700 ETH. This accumulation happened because ETH moved into a zone described as extreme oversold conditions between $1,644 and $1,660. ETH still trades approximately 67% below its own record high.

Leverage and liquidation risk

The divergence between derivative activity and spot demand creates significant liquidation risk because perpetual futures volume of 5.57 million units dwarfs spot volume of 290,000 units. The 30-day Z-score for this imbalance reached 2.53, a reading that occurs less than 1% of the time in a normal distribution. You likely recognize that this imbalance signals heavy leverage rather than organic interest. The taker buy-sell ratio on Binance moved from a weekly average of 0.95 to 1.16. Across all exchanges, the taker ratio rose to 1.0 from 0.94 over the past two weeks. Traders face a difficult environment as nearly $1.72 billion in cumulative long liquidations sits below the current price of $1,500, while nearly $1.90 billion in short liquidation exposure concentrates near $1,800. A sustained move back above the $1,825 area would reduce immediate bearish pressure and make the record open-interest build look more constructive. The market structure could amplify any failed rebound if these long positions unwind.

Quarterly settlement and options

The third quarter of 2026 brings heavy settlement activity. Ethereum options for this quarter have 756,100 ETH in open contracts with a total notional value of $1.92 billion. The highest call open interest remains at the $3,000 strike with 43,000 contracts outstanding at Coinbase. The put-to-call ratio for these Ethereum options sits at 0.57. This indicates that fewer puts were written than calls. Max pain for Ethereum sits around $2,200, while ETH traded near $2,510 during the September 15 session. This current expiry is larger in comparison to the end of Q2, when Ethereum options totaled $1.6 billion. August turnover in Ethereum options reached $7.14 billion according to Deribit. The expiration comes as traders watch for price action around the $3,000 and $3,100 liquidity clusters. Short positions of $1.90 billion cluster near $1,800, while long liquidations near $1,500 create a narrow gap of risk. Will the recent surge in Binance leverage sustain the price through these quarterly settlements?