Amr Taha2026-09-25

Bitcoin Open Interest Drops $1.72B Across Four Exchanges as Leverage Retreats

Bitcoin derivatives saw a broad reduction in open interest between September 22 and 25, while BTC’s price declined much less sharply. Across Binance, Gate.io, HTX and Bybit, combined open interest fell from about $12.02 billion to $10.30 billion, a decline of roughly $1.72 billion, or 14.3%. Over the same period, Bitcoin moved from around $86,000 to $84,000, down about 2.3%. Gate.io recorded the largest drop, with OI , from $2.76 billion to $2.05 billion. Binance declined by roughly $680 million, from $5.28 billion to $4.60 billion. HTX declined $217 million, from $1.14 billion to $923 million, while Bybit decreased by roughly $110 million, from $2.84 billion to $2.73 billion. A decline in open interest generally indicates that existing derivatives positions are being closed or reduced. While OI alone cannot determine whether longs or shorts were exited, the synchronized contraction across several major exchanges points to a meaningful reduction in leveraged exposure. From a market-structure perspective, this can be constructive because lower open interest reduces the buildup of excessive leverage and may lower the risk of cascading liquidations. The fact that Bitcoin fell only about 2.3% while selected-exchange OI contracted 14.3% also highlights relative price resilience during the deleveraging phase.