ETH Spot Runs 5.7% Above Max Pain, But the Real Magnet Sits Closer at 1625

ETH spot at 1696 sits 5.7% above the Jul-5 (62h) max-pain strike of 1600 — the widest max-pain gap on the board. But max pain isn't the strike actually pulling price: the pin-analytics model tags 1625 (largest call wall, 1,608 contracts OI, also the max-GEX strike) as the active magnet, only 4.2% below spot, while max pain and the 1600 put wall (717 OI) sit further away at -5.7%.

Underneath, 24h OI flow leans bullish: total call delta +3,298 vs put delta +1,792 (net +1,506, dominant side = call buying), with fresh interest building at 1725, 1650, 1800 and three brand-new strikes (1775, 1825, 1850) opening call-side. The 1600 strike is the exception — its +717 put delta is the largest single build on the chain, anchoring the put wall precisely at max pain.

Dealer positioning is short gamma for this expiry (gexTotal -18.8M) with gamma flip at 1538, nearly 9.3% below spot. Funding sits at the 93.5th percentile (14d), bullish and +7.28% annualized, while 1h spot tape is balanced (45.2% buy share) — flow, not tape aggression, is doing the work here.