On Dec. 1, Ether (ETH) price briefly touched $4,760, heady investors and reminding the world that the altcoin is a mere 2.ii% below the $iv,870 all-time high reached twenty days ago. While the spot price action might exist intriguing, let's encounter what's happening in Ether'south derivatives markets.

Ether ETH/USD cost at Bitstamp. Source: TradingView

While it is possible to draw a descending channel that shows back up at $iii,960, Dec. one'southward 5.four% positive move seems decoupled from Bitcoin'southward (BTC) negative performance.

Earlier on Dec. 1, commodities and stocks took a hit after the U.S. Federal Reserve acknowledged that aggrandizement is more than just a "transitory" trend and Fed chair Jerome Powell said that the bank's relaxed coin policies could end sooner than anticipated.

Retail traders are not fully confident

To understand how confident traders are nigh Ether's price recovery, one should analyze the perpetual contracts futures data. This instrument is the retail traders' preferred market because its price tends to track the regular spot markets.

In any futures contract merchandise, longs (buyers) and shorts (sellers) are matched at all times, but their leverage varies. Consequently, exchanges will accuse a funding rate to whichever side demands more leverage, and this fee is paid to the opposing side.

Ether perpetual futures 8-60 minutes funding charge per unit. Source: Coinglass.com

Neutral markets tend to display a 0% to 0.03% positive funding rate, which is equivalent to 0.vi% per week. This indicates that longs are the ones paying and data shows retail traders have been by and large neutral since Nov. 4 and the last move above 0.07% happened on October. 21.

Top traders have reduced their long positions

Exchange-provided information highlights traders' long-to-short net positioning. Past analyzing every client's position on the spot, perpetual and futures contracts, one can better sympathize whether professional person traders are leaning bullish or bearish.

There are occasional discrepancies in the methodologies betwixt different exchanges, so viewers should monitor changes instead of absolute figures.

Exchanges elevation traders ETH long-to-short ratio. Source: Coinglass.com

Despite Ether's 17% rally over the by four days, top traders at Huobi and OKEx decreased their longs. This move was even more evident at OKEx because the indicator fabricated a desperate move from favoring bulls by 120% on Nov. 25 to a meager 30% advantage 3 days later.

Currently, information indicates that whales and arbitrage desks have reduced their long exposure, while retail traders remain suspicious of the recent bull run.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading motion involves take chances. You lot should acquit your own research when making a determination.