The open interest for Ethereum rose to 14.6 million ETH, but funding rates show that investors have not yet established a clear direction.
Investors have staked a record 38.1 million ETH across Ethereum staking protocols.
ETH failed to break the 50-day exponential moving average.
The open interest (OI) for Ethereum jumped to 14.6 million $ETH on Thursday, the highest level since August, amid the recent price decline.
Open interest is the total value of unsettled contracts in the derivatives market. Notably, ETH's open interest has been steadily rising over the past two months, with an increase of nearly 20% despite stable prices.
While the dollar figure is far from the levels seen last August, it still shows that interest in ETH derivatives is gradually returning.
Open interest for ETH. Source: Coinglass
However, the ongoing negative and positive flickers in ETH funding rates indicate that the growth of open interest is distributed across long and short positions, meaning the market has yet to find a clear direction.
While derivatives lag, investors are turning to stake ETH to generate yield. Staked ETH has risen to a record high of over 38.1 million ETH, while assets awaiting to join staking total 2.8 million ETH, according to data from the Validator Queue.
This growth comes as BitMine's Ethereum treasury launches its institutional staking platform, the Made in America Validator Network (MAVAN).
Total ETH staked. Source: Validator Queue
MAVAN was originally designed to support BitMine's treasury for Ethereum and is positioned as the preferred platform for institutions seeking professional validation operations.
"MAVAN represents a critical step in our vision to build one of the leading platforms for lending and on-chain infrastructure globally," said Thomas Lee, Chairman of BitMine, in a statement on Wednesday.
BitMine claims that the platform will use U.S.-based infrastructure to serve institutional investors, custodians, and ecosystem partners, focusing on security, performance, and flexibility.
This movement comes as BitMine released more ETH into staking. The company indicated that it staked 101,776 ETH last week, raising the total staked assets to 3.14 million ETH.
BitMine claims to be the largest public holder of the leading altcoin, with a holding of 4.66 million ETH, which could yield $300 million annually when fully staked.
Ethereum Price Prediction: ETH struggles at the 50-day exponential moving average
Ethereum recorded $110.4 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, led by $99.7 million in long liquidations, according to Coinglass data.
On the daily chart, ETH is trading at $2060. The short-term bias remains neutral with a slight downward tilt, as the price holds below the 20-day exponential moving average near $2110 and well below the 50 and 100-day exponential moving averages clustered around $2185 and $2440, maintaining a broader corrective context.
The relative strength index (RSI) around 46 indicates a loss of upward momentum without an oversold condition, while the stochastic indicator (Stoch) near 10 suggests short-term exhaustion in the downward trend rather than a reversal. These formations indicate trading within a range with weak bullish conviction unless buyers can reclaim the short-term average.
Daily chart ETH/USDT
Immediate resistance appears at the 50-day exponential moving average, where $ETH continued to face rejection, and then at $2108, where a horizontal ceiling intersects with the descending 20-day exponential moving average. A daily close above this area would open the way toward $2389 as the next bullish barrier.
On the downside, the first support lies far away at $1741, followed by $1524, which are levels that define the minimum of the prevailing medium-term range. As long as $ETH remains confined between $2108 and $1741, traders expect directionless price action, as a sustained break on either side is required to establish a clearer trend.
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