Speaking at the Virtual Fintech Forum in Hong Kong on May 27, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin commented on the hurdles surrounding the implementation of Ethereum 2.0. Buterin said there have been several internal team conflicts over the past five years, and as a result he confirmed that the launch of Ethereum 2.0 is unlikely before the end of 2022 .
In a May 22 report from Goldman Sachs, analysts said Ether has "a good chance of overtaking Bitcoin as the dominant store of value." Moreover, the report noted the growth of the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector and non-convertible token (NFT) ecosystems built on Ethereum. Coincidentally, the very next day, Ether's price hit a low of $1,750.
On June 14, CoinShares released its weekly fund flow report, and Ether investment products had the largest outflows , totaling $12.7 million.
However, the upcoming option expiration of $1.5 billion on June 25 could be a turning point for Ether, according to Cointelegraph. That figure is 30% higher than the March 26 expiration, which occurred when Ether's price fell 17% in five days to a low near $1550.
Despite flirting with $2,600 after a 12% rise over the past week, Ether's top traders seem unable to shift their position from neutral to bearish, according to derivatives data.
Typically, Tte's 3-month futures contracts are usually traded at a premium to regular spot exchanges. In addition to the exchange's liquidity risk, the seller defers settlement and usually charges higher fees.
Annual returns of 6% to 17% on stablecoin loans show an increase when the 3-month premium exceeds this range. On the other hand, when futures are trading below the stablecoin lending rate, it signals short-term bearish sentiment.
