Bitcoin (BTC) futures exposure barely changed in Glassnode’s Oct. 19 snapshot, while spot trading leaned further toward sellers and a measure tied to downside options protection climbed.
Futures open interest stood at $36.4 billion, down from $36.5 billion one week earlier, a 0.3% decline. The $36.4 billion total represents outstanding futures exposure; the weekly change alone does not reveal traders’ collateral or how many contracts were exited. Because the total includes exposure on both sides, it cannot isolate long positions.
On the exchanges Glassnode tracks, seller-initiated spot volume exceeded buyer-initiated volume by $83.6 million. The metric identifies which side initiated trades. That figure covers the exchanges included in Glassnode’s measure, not every Bitcoin transaction. EconoTimes previously covered a turn toward more negative spot flows alongside higher long-side funding, a combination also present in the latest data.
Long-side funding payments rose to $1.6 million from $1.1 million. Glassnode read the higher funding payment as renewed demand for long exposure. Bitcoin options open interest also increased, reaching $38.6 billion from $37.4 billion. That options total covers a separate market from the futures contracts. Glassnode’s 25-delta skew measure, which the firm associates with demand for protection against price declines, advanced to 8.6% from 5.2%.
Bitcoin fell below $80,000 on Oct. 15. In its Oct. 21 weekly report, Glassnode said Binance bids around that price had been replenished by Oct. 20. U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded about $653 million in net inflows on Oct. 19, though Glassnode described their trading volume as subdued compared with a typical session over the prior year.
The Federal Reserve’s calendar lists 2 p.m. ET on Oct. 28 for its next rate announcement, following the policy meeting scheduled for Oct. 27-28.
