Ethena (ENA) surged by 19% – But does the enthusiasm mask a 'bull trap'?

Ethena (ENA) continues to assert its strength by outperforming most of the market in the past 24 hours, rising to the sky 19.6% to $0.7363, becoming the second strongest rising cryptocurrency, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

The influx of liquidity is increasingly intense, igniting hopes for a significant breakout, and even opening up the possibility for this altcoin to double its profits in the near future.

However, analysis from Bitcoin Magazine also issues a warning: this could just be a "bull trap" (bull trap), putting investors who buy at the current price at risk of significant losses.

Open contracts surge, rekindling traders' risk appetite

The rise of ENA in the past 24 hours coincided with a large influx of capital into the perpetual futures market, as data from CoinGlass shows that the open contract (OI) surged to the sky.

OI is a measure of the total value ( converted to USD) of the perpetual futures contracts that have not been settled. As of the time of writing, this index of ENA has risen by an additional 244 million USD, equivalent to a jump of 18%, bringing the total value of OI to 1.3 billion USD.

Source: CoinGlassNot stopping there, the analysis of the funding rate shows that the market is leaning entirely towards a rising trend as this index returns to the positive zone.

Typically, when the funding rate remains positive — currently at 0.0082% — and continues to rise, it indicates that the buying pressure (Long) is overpowering the selling pressure (Short), reflecting the strong confidence of the bulls.

The spot market shows mixed signals

Investor sentiment in the spot market is currently in a "bipolar" state, as both short-term and long-term factors intertwine.

From a short-term perspective, the latest data shows a net outflow of 12 million USD — a rather unfavorable signal for the upward trend. Nevertheless, Bitcoin Magazine believes ENA still has a chance to maintain its upward trend.

Source: CoinGlassLooking at the longer-term picture, the amount of ENA withdrawn from the market over the past week still exceeds the amount deposited. As of the time of writing, the difference stands at approximately 5.7 million USD, reflecting that buying pressure remains dominant.

Nevertheless, in-depth analyses still emphasize the need for caution, as the current rise could very well be just a "bull trap" that has been set.

Is a price trap lurking?

Data from the Liquidation Heatmap shows that liquidity clusters are densely concentrated just below the current price level – a structure that poses potential risks as the market may "sweep" liquidity above before sharply reversing down.

Source: CoinGlassCurrently, short sellers (Short) are facing greater losses, with 4.61 million USD in positions being liquidated, compared to only 730,000 USD for long buyers (Long). However, if the trend reverses, high-leverage Long positions may become the next target, triggering a "domino effect" of liquidations.

Although both technical data and on-chain data still support the upward trend, the concentration of liquidity in the lower price range leaves open the scenario for a deep reversal. If the bulls maintain a high leverage level, the upward momentum could quickly be replaced by a sharp decline under the pressure of the bears.

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