Ethereum (ETH) derivatives buyers have overtaken sellers for the first time in three years, posting a net positive volume of over $104 million, even as the token trades near $2,053 and U.S. spot ETFs continue to bleed capital for a third straight week.
Darkfost Derivatives Data
Pseudonymous analyst Darkfost flagged the shift in an Apr. 4 post, citing CryptoQuant data on the Net Taker Volume metric. The indicator measures the gap between buy and sell volume for market orders in ETH derivatives.
A positive reading means buyers are outpacing sellers. A negative one signals the opposite. For the past three years, sellers had dominated — even while ETH climbed to all-time highs.
Now, for the first time since the last bear phase, the metric has flipped positive. Darkfost called it a regime change in the derivatives market.
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Bottom Formation
The analyst argued that sustained buying pressure could help form a strong bottom for ETH. It could also lay groundwork for a bullish structure going forward.
"If this dynamic persists and the spot market and ETFs begin to support the move, Ethereum could potentially restart a positive trend," Darkfost said.
ETF Outflow Pressure
That ETF support has not arrived yet. U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs recorded $42.15 million in net outflows over the past week, extending losses to a third consecutive week.
On Thursday, Apr. 3, alone, the products saw $71.12 million leave in a single day.
The capital flow direction remains a key variable for any sustained price recovery, and so far, institutional appetite has been fading.
ETH last traded around $2,053, up 0.4% in 24 hours.
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