According to data from Glassnode, the futures volumes of the top three cryptocurrencies—Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL)—are showing a notable divergence. While Bitcoin futures volumes have seen a strong recovery, Ethereum and Solana have seen declines or little change, reflecting varying levels of investor interest.

Futures Volume Situation

Analysts often use futures volumes to gauge the health of an asset, as it is a key indicator of market interest and potential future price movements.

Bitcoin (BTC) is seeing a surge in futures volumes, suggesting that the market is recovering from a strong sell-off. Data from Glassnode shows that BTC futures volume hovered around $60 billion at the start of 2025. It peaked at $63 billion before falling to $57 billion, but it was still 32% higher than February 23. While it has yet to return to its December 2024 peak of $74 billion, the move suggests that Bitcoin is attracting large inflows again.

In contrast, Ethereum (ETH) is showing signs of a lack of enthusiasm from traders. ETH futures volume opened 2025 at $32 billion but has recently fallen to $28 billion. The yearly high of $31 billion is significantly lower than the previous year's peak of $37 billion.

Meanwhile, Solana (SOL) saw a sharp increase from $7 billion in January to a year-to-date high of $12.2 billion. However, the volume dropped to $8.7 billion in February and has remained almost unchanged since then. This shows that market interest in SOL futures remains fairly stable, but shows no signs of strong growth.

Cryptocurrency Market Signals

The divergence in futures trading volumes between the top three digital assets shows different trends in investor sentiment.

- Bitcoin continues to consolidate, with increased institutional inflows and interest. This is in line with the bullish forecast of Standard Chartered, which recently raised its BTC price forecast to $500,000 by the end of 2025.
- Ethereum is struggling to attract new money, leading Standard Chartered to reduce its ETH price forecast from $10,000 to $4,000 by December 2025.
- Solana could find fresh impetus from the listing of futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), a move that could spur participation from large institutional investors.

Overall, Bitcoin is in a strong position to attract liquidity, while Ethereum and Solana need more support to reverse the trend of declining futures trading volumes.