- Ethereum tops Bitcoin in perpetual futures volume with $90.82B in daily trades
- MACD crossover and $3.4K breakout confirm strong bullish momentum for ETH
- Over $122M in liquidations signal aggressive short squeezes as ETH surges
Ethereum has overtaken Bitcoin in perpetual futures trading volume, signaling a major shift in market dynamics. Ethereum perpetual contracts recorded $90.82 billion in 24-hour trading volume.
This exceeds Bitcoin’s $82.93 billion and marks the first time Ethereum has led the entire crypto market in this metric. The surge comes amid a strong technical breakout and rising interest from traders, hinting at a broader bullish trend forming for the asset.
Rising Volume, Strong Breakout, and Market Momentum
According to data from Glassnode, Ethereum is currently the only non-stablecoin top-10 crypto asset showing an increase in futures volume over the last 24 hours. Volume jumped by 27%, with Open Interest also rising by 6%. Funding rates remain stable at 0.0047%, indicating fresh long positions are building, but without the danger of excessive leverage.
#Ethereum stands out as the only top-10 non-stablecoin asset with rising futures volume over the past 24h (+27%). Open Interest is also up (+6%), while funding remains neutral at 0.0047% – suggesting fresh positioning, but without signs of excessive leverage. pic.twitter.com/wKLWIXrhdu
— glassnode (@glassnode) July 16, 2025
This rally follows a confirmed breakout from a massive inverse head and shoulders pattern, as highlighted by analyst Crypto Patel. Ethereum has reclaimed the $3,400 level after nearly five months of consolidation.
According to Patel’s analysis, the next major targets lie at $6,000, $8,000, and even $10,000 although a brief dip near the $2,800 region is possible before continuation.
Ethereum just broke out of a massive inverse head & shoulders and it’s flying past $3,400 again after 5 months. 🚀
— Crypto Patel (@CryptoPatel) July 17, 2025
Chart looks Bullish for a run toward $6K… but don’t be surprised by a dip to ~$2,800 first.$ETH is Mega bullish.
Next stops: $6K → $8K → $10K.
NFA & DYOR https://t.co/I8nqNhcPma pic.twitter.com/unZNGAnz1Q
Technical Indicators and Liquidation Trends
Momentum indicators support the bullish outlook. The MACD shows a significant bullish crossover, with the MACD line (204.4) well above the signal line (126.7). The histogram remains positive and continues to grow, confirming strong buying pressure.
However, the RSI sits at 82.89, deep in overbought territory. Historically, such readings are followed by brief consolidations or mild corrections. Hence, a short-term cooldown would not be surprising, especially considering the rapid rise.
Liquidation data reinforces the current trend. In the past 24 hours, Ethereum saw $122.2 million in total liquidations. Of this, $121.1 million came from perpetual contracts.
Short positions accounted for $92.5 million of the total, highlighting aggressive short squeezes as the price pushed higher. Bybit led all exchanges in liquidation volumes, followed by Binance, OKX, and Huobi.
Ethereum as of press time trades at $3,432, up 8.86% in the last 24 hours and 23.38% over the past week. Its market cap stands at over $414 billion, with a circulating supply of 120 million ETH.
