Open Interest

What it measures

The total number of open BTC perpetual futures contracts that haven't yet been closed or settled - the total amount of leveraged positioning currently outstanding in the derivatives market, on both the long and short side combined.

Formula

Open Interest (BTC) = total outstanding contracts, converted to BTC notional

Normal range

No fixed level - trends with the overall size of the derivatives market and read via its own historical percentile and trend, alongside funding rate, rather than a standalone threshold.

How it fails

Open interest alone doesn't say which side (long or short) is more crowded - read alongside funding rate for that. A rising level can mean either side is adding exposure, and a sharp drop can reflect a genuine unwind or simply a forced liquidation cascade; the raw number doesn't distinguish the two.

A note on this metric's availability

This entry describes what the metric is and how to read it. The live reading itself is sourced from Kraken's public futures endpoints, whose terms don't cover public redistribution of the data as a standalone product (DATA_LICENCES.md) - so the current figure and its chart are shown only in this project's internal lab view, not on the public site, while this educational entry about the concept remains public.

Related metrics

Funding Rate, DVOL

Bull read

Rising open interest alongside a rising price and positive funding has historically meant fresh long positioning is entering, not just existing positions repricing.

Bear read

Elevated open interest is fuel for a sharp move in either direction (a crowded market unwinds fast, in a liquidation cascade, once it turns) - it isn't itself a directional signal, and a high reading can persist for a long stretch before any unwind.