According to @rovercrc, big institutions are stacking short positions in ETH and he frames this as potential fuel for the next rally via a short squeeze based on his X post and chart dated Aug 18, 2025, source: Crypto Rover on X, Aug 18, 2025. Traders should validate the claim by checking CFTC Commitments of Traders for CME Ether futures and comparing with exchange-level ETH perpetual funding and open interest before positioning, source: CFTC COT reports; CME Group market data; major exchange derivatives dashboards. A practical setup is to look for rising open interest with flat price action, funding turning negative, and visible liquidation clusters above recent highs before breakout longs, source: CME Group derivatives education; major exchange metrics. Invalidate the squeeze bias if open interest contracts while price drops and funding turns positive, indicating shorts covering rather than adding, source: CME Group derivatives concepts; major exchange metrics.

According to Bobby Ong, traders bullish on ETH are weighing which instrument delivers the best leveraged exposure, making it essential to compare liquidity, costs, and risk across venues (source: Bobby Ong on X). Regulated futures: CME lists Ether futures and options that are cash-settled and funding-free but introduce a term-structure basis that can be earned or paid depending on curve shape (source: CME Group). Centralized exchange perpetual swaps offer deep liquidity and flexible leverage but charge funding that fluctuates with sentiment and add exchange counterparty risk (source: Binance Futures). ETH options provide convex upside with defined risk via calls or call spreads, shifting the focus to implied volatility and skew rather than funding rates (source: Deribit). On-chain leverage via stETH or wstETH loops on Aave amplifies exposure and yield but adds liquidation, LST depeg, and variable borrow APR risks (source: Aave; source: Lido). Decentralized perps enable self-custody leverage with on-chain settlement but have funding and liquidity/oracle risk trade-offs versus CEX perps (source: dYdX). Leveraged tokens offer auto-rebalanced exposure without margin management but suffer rebalancing decay, suiting short-term momentum rather than long-term holds (source: Binance Leveraged Tokens). In practice, regulated and funding-free leverage is often achieved with dated CME futures, while short-term momentum traders may favor liquid perps, and vol-focused traders can use long-dated calls or call spreads to cap downside (sources: CME Group; Binance Futures; Deribit).