As of December 5, 2025, Ethereum options traders have adopted a noticeably more bullish stance than their Bitcoin counterparts, with positioning and capital flows clearly skewed toward call options. This shift is being driven by a major protocol upgrade, concentrated ETF inflows, and a technical breakout in the ETH/BTC ratio, all of which have reinforced positive sentiment around Ether.
Ethereum Options Positioning Turns Increasingly Bullish
Derivatives data reveal a clear tilt toward upside exposure in Ether options, with heavier call demand shaping market structure. The put-to-call ratio (PCR), a common sentiment indicator that compares open interest in puts versus calls, shows lower values for Ethereum, reflecting stronger bullish positioning. Ethereum’s max‑pain level is near $3,050 while spot ETH trades around $3.18k, a gap analysts interpret as supportive for call holders at current expiries. By contrast, Bitcoin’s spot near $92.3k sits only marginally above its max‑pain point at roughly $91.0k, a configuration traders view as more vulnerable to corrective moves.
Market sentiment remains optimistic but measured. Analysts at Greeks.live describe the environment as “a cautiously bullish bias, tempered by frustration over choppy price action and false moves.” This perspective aligns with elevated put skew in Bitcoin options, indicating persistent demand for downside protection in BTC despite ETH’s growing advantage.
Fundamentals and flows are reinforcing the options-driven divergence. On December 3, 2025, Ethereum deployed the Fusaka upgrade, which expanded Layer‑1 execution capacity, increased gas limits to 60 million, and introduced EIP‑7935 alongside a PeerDAS data‑availability component designed to reduce congestion and fees. The upgrade is viewed by analysts as a meaningful operational tailwind that strengthens network throughput and cost efficiency for users and developers.
On-chain activity reacted quickly. The network added roughly 190,000 new addresses in a single day following the upgrade, while wallets holding between 1,000 and 10,000 ETH showed renewed accumulation. Institutional flows added further support, with U.S. spot Ether ETFs attracting approximately $140 million on December 4, 2025, while Bitcoin and Solana ETFs experienced net outflows.
Relative volatility dynamics have also strengthened Ether’s case. A compression in Bitcoin’s implied volatility has made Ethereum options comparatively more attractive for traders seeking asymmetric upside exposure. At the same time, the ETH/BTC ratio climbed about 4% and broke above a descending trendline that had been in place since August, signaling a technical rotation toward Ether dominance.
Overall, the divergence in the options market reflects the convergence of protocol upgrades, institutional capital flows, and technical momentum that currently favors Ethereum for directional exposure.
