Updated: March 29, 2024, 11:08 AM EDT
Open interest for Bitcoin futures on centralized exchanges has hit record highs, indicating increased trading activity around the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
Total open interest in Bitcoin futures reached a record level of $38 billion on Friday, according to CoinGlass.
Since the start of 2024, daily open interest in Bitcoin futures has increased more than 100% from January 1, when it was approximately $17.2 billion. This rise coincides with a surge in Bitcoin price to $70,000. This is a 66% increase since the beginning of the year.
Open interest measures the total value of outstanding or “outstanding” Bitcoin futures contracts across exchanges and indicates an increase in market activity and trader sentiment for a specific asset.
According to The Block’s data dashboard, the current open interest figures are consistent with monthly Bitcoin futures trading volume of over $2.3 trillion during March across various exchanges, the highest since May 2021.
Meanwhile, total open interest in Ethereum futures stands at $13.8 billion, up nearly 90% from early 2024. Ethereum’s trading price reached $3,500, reflecting a gain of more than 53% since the beginning of the year.
In recent months, the introduction of Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by companies including BlackRock has impacted market sentiment, with cumulative net inflows into Bitcoin spot ETFs of over $12 billion to date.
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