Ethereum is attracting the bulk of new speculative money in the crypto-derivatives market. On-chain analytics firm Glassnode said the token’s share of open interest in perpetual futures rose to almost 40% on 29 July, the highest since April 2023 and a level exceeded on only about 5% of historical trading days. Ethereum’s perpetual-futures trading volume also overtook Bitcoin’s for the first time since the 2022 market bottom, marking the largest recorded volume skew in favour of the second-largest cryptocurrency. The figures highlight a rotation of leverage away from Bitcoin, whose derivatives dominance slipped roughly 4.3 percentage points, according to market data aggregated by analytics platforms. Options markets echo the shift: pricing compiled by CoinMarketCap shows a 30% probability that Ether will reach US$6,000 by 25 December, a sharp jump from 7% at the start of July. Implied volatility on Ether options stands near 60%, double that of Bitcoin, signalling expectations of bigger price swings. Strategists liken the move to the early stages of the 2021 altcoin rally but caution that macro events could temper momentum. Traders are watching this week’s Federal Reserve policy decision and U.S. non-farm payrolls report for clues on risk appetite across digital assets.