Ethereum Retail Mood Still Bearish: Perfect Setup For ATH Break?

Data shows Ethereum sentiment on social media doesn’t lean too bullish right now, something that could pave the way for a continuation in the asset’s rally.

In a new post on X, analytics firm Santiment has talked about the sentiment around Ethereum that’s present among social media users. The indicator shared by Santiment is the “Positive/Negative Sentiment,” which tells us how the positive and negative comments related to ETH compare against each other on the major social media platforms.

The metric separates between the two types of comments by putting users’ posts/threads/messages through a machine-learning model. Once they have been divided, it counts up the number of each and takes the ratio between them.

Below is the chart shared by the analytics firm that shows the trend in the Ethereum Positive/Negative Sentiment over the last few months:

As displayed in the graph, the Ethereum Positive/Negative Sentiment interestingly witnessed a plunge as the asset’s breakout earlier in the month took place. This would suggest that social media users weren’t convinced by the rally. The continuation in the run since then has meant that the sentiment has improved a bit, but it still remains much lower than the high from last month. Thus, it seems retail is in disbelief, despite the fact that the cryptocurrency is nearing its all-time high (ATH).

If the past is anything to go by, this fact could actually be a positive signal for ETH. “Prices historically movein  the opposite direction of retail traders’ expectations,” says Santiment. The analytics firm has highlighted in the chart some instances of this trend in action. It would appear that FOMO spikes led to price drops for the asset, while excessive FUD resulted in price rises.

“With key stakeholders accumulating loose coins that small ETH traders are willing to part with right now, prices are showing very little sentiment resistance from breaking through and making history in the near future,” explains Santiment.

In some other news, the Ethereum Futures Open Interest has shot up alongside the price surge, as analytics firm Glassnode has pointed out in an X post.

The Futures Open Interest measures, as its name suggests, the total amount of futures-related positions that are currently open on all centralized derivatives exchanges. From the chart, it’s visible that the metric has climbed beyond the $35.5 billion mark, which is a new record.

Following a rally of over 7% in the last 24 hours, Ethereum has reached the $4,730 mark, now sitting within touching distance of the ATH.