Open interest in bitcoin perpetual futures surged Wednesday by the most in four months as the leading cryptocurrency neared the $110,000 mark.
Open interest in perpetual futures listed on offshore exchanges rose by nearly 10% to $26.91 billion, the highest single-day increase since March 2, according to data source Velo. The data tracking website included activity in USD and USDT-denominated perpetuals listed on Binance, Bybit, OKX, Deribit, and Hyperliquid.
Open interest refers to the number of active or open contracts, often expressed in terms of their cumulative dollar-denominated value.
An uptick in open interest alongside a price rise is said to confirm the uptrend. BTC’s price surged over 3.5% to $109,600 due to a host of factors, including the disappointing U.S. ADP jobs report, which strengthened calls for Fed rate cuts, Trump’s trade deal with Vietnam, and the launch of the REX-Osprey Solana + Staking ETF (SSK).
Furthermore, the perpetual funding rates of BTC and ETH rose slightly from an annualized 5% to over 7%, suggesting renewed demand for leveraged bullish plays. Funding rates for DOGE and ADA topped the 10% mark.
BTC’s price rally also led to a total of $300 million in liquidations or forced closure of leveraged futures plays due to margin shortages. Most of the forced closures were bearish short positions, according to the data source Coinglass.
A total of 107,604 traders have been liquidated in the past 24 hours, with the largest single order, worth over $2.32 million, happening on Hyperliquid.