Bitcoin Open Interest Surges $2.3B as Traders Increase Bullish Bets

Bitcoin derivatives activity has strengthened ahead of Friday’s U.S. jobs report, with traders increasing their positions as BTC moves above $86,000.

Open interest has climbed to about 653,000 BTC, worth roughly $56.2 billion, from 626,000 BTC on Sept. 30, according to CoinGlass. That represents an increase of 27,000 BTC, or approximately $2.3 billion, equivalent to a 4.3% rise.

Open interest tracks the total amount of futures and perpetual contracts that remain active and have not been closed or settled. An increase generally indicates that traders are adding market exposure, although the metric does not indicate whether those positions are bullish or bearish.

Bitcoin has also advanced from roughly $83,500 to $86,500 over the same period. The combination of higher prices and rising open interest suggests that fresh positions are contributing to the move higher.

Perpetual futures funding rates have also increased, rising from around 3% to 10%. Funding payments are exchanged periodically between long and short traders to help keep perpetual futures prices aligned with the spot market. When funding is positive, traders holding long positions pay those betting on lower prices.

The jump in funding indicates stronger demand for bullish bitcoin exposure, with traders accepting higher costs to maintain long positions ahead of the employment data.

Still, the current increase in open interest follows a relatively weak period. Open interest stood near 625,000 BTC at the end of September, close to its lowest level in a year. While speculative activity is recovering, the latest rise is coming from a low base.

Higher funding rates can reflect stronger bullish positioning, but they also make leveraged long positions more expensive and potentially increase traders’ exposure to sharp reversals.

Bitcoin-related stocks were also higher in Friday’s premarket session. Strategy and Strive each gained about 3%, while Coinbase and Robinhood advanced roughly 2%.