Since bitcoin (BTC) hit its all-time high (ATH) of $109,000 in mid-January, the leading cryptocurrency has plummeted by roughly 30%. This decline has extended beyond the asset’s price to the network’s open interest.

According to data analyzed by the market intelligence platform Glassnode, Bitcoin Futures open interest is seeing a significant decline in speculation and hedging activity. This market has fallen from $57 billion to $37 billion, reflecting a 35% plunge in two months.

Futures open interest has dropped from $57B to $37B (-35%) since #Bitcoin’s ATH, signaling reduced speculation and hedging activity. This decline mirrors the contraction seen in on-chain liquidity, pointing to broader risk-off behavior. pic.twitter.com/XPbXiHXlRS

Futures Open Interest Falls 35%

Glassnode said the decline in Bitcoin Futures open interest mirrors the contraction seen in the asset’s on-chain liquidity, indicating a broader risk-off behavior.

When Bitcoin Futures open interest falls, traders are closing their positions, and this could be due to several reasons: reduced market activity, potential trend reversal, profit-taking/uncertainty, and less confidence in bitcoin’s price trend.

No matter the reason for the decline, lower Bitcoin Futures open interest often comes with fewer outstanding contracts, weakening bullish momentum, reduced leverage, lower volatility, and, in some cases, an increase in selling pressure.

CryptoPotato reported earlier that the Bitcoin market has been deleveraging since mid-February, with more than $10 billion wiped out during a massive liquidation of leveraged positions. Noteworthily, this has always given BTC traders good and profitable short and medium-term opportunities in past occasions.

Potential Short-Term Volatility

While BTC rallied towards its ATH in mid-January, the Bitcoin Futures Perpetual Funding Rate surged to 0.035%—its highest since December 5, 2024—indicating that long traders were periodically paying short traders. However, the high optimism eventually led to an overheated market and triggered a price reversal accompanied by widespread liquidation.

With widespread liquidation, long-side bias weakened, and the futures market witnessed an unwinding of the cash-and-carry trade. Massive outflows from spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the closure of futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) added selling pressure to spot markets, reflecting a shift in positioning.

Although lower Bitcoin Futures open interest is often accompanied by lower volatility due to reduced leverage, Glassnode believes spot Bitcoin ETFs, having lower liquidity than the futures market, could amplify short-term volatility.

Meanwhile, data from CoinMarketCap shows that BTC traded around $83,960 at the time of writing, with a 2.18% decline in the last 24 hours. Bitcoin has remained under $90,000 for two weeks now.