CME Exchange Sees Surging Ether Futures as Altcoins Outperform Bitcoin

Crypto markets rallied broadly early Wednesday, with altcoins like OKB, PUMP, BNSOL, JITOSOL, and SOL posting double-digit gains alongside Ether's rapid climb toward all-time highs. Bitcoin's modest 0.4% daily gain contrasted with altcoin momentum, suggesting capital rotation from the dominant cryptocurrency.

"We're seeing classic altcoin season dynamics," noted FxPro's Alex Kuptsikevich. "Investors appear to be recycling Bitcoin profits into smaller caps while traditional equities like the S&P 500 and Nikkei 225 simultaneously hit record peaks."

CME's Ether futures open interest jumped to 1.85 million ETH as traders positioned for upside, with the three-month annualized basis exceeding 10%. bitcoin derivatives showed more moderate 7.5% basis rates. Notably, perpetual funding rates remained stable near 10% annualized across major tokens, indicating no immediate signs of excessive leverage.