ETH rises 0.92% in 15 minutes: Options expiration drives concentrated release of spot buying pressure

2026-04-02 13:45 to 2026-04-02 14:00 (UTC), the ETH (Ethereum) price rose 0.92% within 15 minutes, closing in the 2018.99 to 2040.78 USDT range, with a trading range of 1.08%. During this period, market volatility increased, trading activity was active, and it drew significant attention.

The main driver behind this unusual move was the concentrated release of spot buying pressure under the dominance of options expiry. April 2 is the key crypto options expiry date; the notional open interest for ETH at the time was approximately $670 million. Market bullish sentiment was dominant, and spot prices were trading above the maximum pain point. As a result, leading funds lifted the spot price in coordination with options settlement, concentrating to push up the ETH price.

In addition, on-chain data shows that net inflows of stablecoins (USDT/USDC) into ETH on-chain wallets increased by 1.5%–2.2%. Large on-chain transfers became more frequent, indicating that institutional and large-holder buying pressure strengthened in sync. In the futures market, the total open interest continued to approach $160 billion; clear signs of long position rollovers and short-term additional leverage were evident. In the spot market, the number of buy orders and order placement increased. ETF-related arbitrage funds also entered in parallel. Combined with automated hedging by quantitative strategies that drives convergence of the spot-futures price spread, these factors amplified short-term volatility.

It is worth noting that after options expiry, implied market volatility typically rises in the short term. If spot buying fails to follow through, there is a risk of a pullback to below the $2,100–$2,130 range and even toward the $1,937 support area. It is recommended to closely monitor the buy-side strength around key support levels, on-chain fund flows, large transfers, and ETF-related capital moves, and to obtain more market updates in time to mitigate short-term volatility risks.