Ethereum Options Data Suggests Pro Traders Expect ETH Price to Break $400

Ethereum options open interest increased by 5 fold over the past three months to reach $337 million.

Although this figure pales in comparison to the current $1.8 billion Bitcoin options market, Ether options have grown to reach the same size the BTC options market was roughly 15 months ago.

All this changed after the crypto market crash on March 12 when Ether price collapsed by more than 40%.Traders began building protective positions at an impressive pace, and the put/call ratio reached 1.04 in early-June, indicating put options had higher open interest than calls.

As Ether failed to break $250 level, open interest receded a bit to 0.84 in mid-July.Oddly enough, despite the recent 64% rally to current $390 since July 20, options markets continue to add more bearish put options.

Strikes above $400 are not commonAnother widely used indicator is the comparison of open interest above and below current market levels.

Not every indicator is bearishOptions skew measures how much more expensive call options are relative to similar risk put options.

A hands-on approach of measuring it compares a call option price 10% above underlying futures reference to a put option 10% below.

On August 8, ETH markets relative to the $400 underlying September futures are signaling bullishness.

Monitoring how market makers are currently pricing options markets and the status of the current future contracts' premium seems a better way to gauge professional traders sentiment.

Both options put/call ratio and the amount held at each strike level seem contaminated by volumes that happened over two weeks ago, when Ether was trading below $300.At the moment, trading data on options and futures markets points to a strong bullish perspective from professional traders.