Is Bitcoin Open Interest hits $ 96 billion, bullish or bearish?

Key Takeaways:
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Open interest in Bitcoin futures and options are balloon at $ 96 billion, up from 2022 levels.
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The raised speculative leverage fuels of BTC’s Bullish breakout, but it also increases the risk of cascading liquidations, which is reminiscent of 2021 volatility.
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The stablecoin-margined collateral is now dominant in crypto-margined positions, which helps prevent volatility degenerations amid increased trading activity.
The Bitcoin’s Derivatives Market, which orders $ 96.2 billion in Open Interest (OI), has prepared to shape dynamic prices each time BTC traded closely all the time. While the bitcoin (Btc) OI is currently dropping from a $ 114 billion peak, dwarfs still 2022 levels.
Glass node taught that the introduction of the US spot bitcoin ETFS in January 2024 accelerated this trend. In 2023, open fluctuations of interest was a bit annoying, but post-EPF, 30-day changes grew more volatile, reflecting a market that was increasingly driven by leveraged trading.
The realized cap leverage ratio, which is now at 10.2%, which is in the rank of the top 10.8% of trading days since 2018, the sign is rising activity that can continue to drive price action as Bitcoin hovers near all times high.
It can strengthen the potential price of bitcoin, driving fast rallies have passed basic levels of resistance to $ 111,800 and boosting liquidity, such as observed in Binance’s futures data, where most of the businessman’s participation is successful.
As described, in May 2025, Binance achieved An amazing milestone, recording $ 1.7 trillion in the quantity of trading in Futures, the highest monthly figure in 2025. This progress in the activity indicates a stable wave of speculation and market contact, which significantly contributed to the Bitcoin’s bullish momentum at the beginning of Q2.
However, the same connection carries care. The risk of cascading liquidations is still large, potentially triggered by sharp price collapse, as witnessed in the 2021 crash fuel by volatile positions marked.
However, Glassnode noted that the market shows the signs of maturity. Since the collapse of the 2022 FTX, the Stablecoin-Margined collateral has reached crypto-margined positions, now leading open interest. This change reduces collateral volatility, offering a buffer against market shocks.
Related: Bitcoin’s weak hands sell 15k BTC to a loss: BTCs are under $ 100k the next?
BTC-USDT Futures Leverage Ratio points to volatility
Data from cryptoquant indicated That the ratio of BTC-USDT futures with open interest gradually rises near its climax from early 2025. It confirms the raised market concerns outlined above, with the move of Bitcoin above $ 100,000 for more than a month.
Also, the crypto analyst Boris Vest Taught Out that traders are preparing to move in either direction. The analyst noted that as short positions continue to increase in Binance, the ratio between long and short is relatively balanced, such as infer from normal funding rates. The businessman said,
“Within $ 100k – $ 110k range, most entrepreneurs are leaning against short positions. It increases the chances of a move in the opposite direction. It is possible that larger players will be quietly accumulated in this zone.”
Related: Bitcoin should hold $ 100k because Q3 predicts that the sideways trading
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every transfer of investment and trading involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when deciding.