Bitcoin Futures Open Interest Plunges 49,000 BTC in Biggest Drop Since 2025

Combined open interest across CME Bitcoin futures and perpetual futures has dropped by roughly 49,000 BTC over the past seven days, marking the largest weekly decline since October 2025.

The sharp contraction stands out because it occurred without the extreme volatility or mass liquidations typically associated with major Bitcoin deleveraging events. Bitcoin has remained relatively stable near $84,070, while perpetual futures funding rates have cooled and liquidation volumes stayed modest.

According to CoinGlass data, total Bitcoin futures open interest currently stands at approximately $52.89 billion. Bitcoin futures trading volume reached about $56.25 billion over the latest 24-hour period.

Despite the significant reduction in leveraged positions, CoinGlass recorded only around $67.6 million in Bitcoin futures liquidations during the same period. That figure is relatively small compared with the nearly $52.9 billion in outstanding derivatives positions, suggesting the decline was not primarily caused by forced liquidations.

The situation contrasts sharply with the major crypto market deleveraging event on October 10, 2025. During that selloff, billions of dollars in leveraged positions were rapidly wiped out as falling cryptocurrency prices triggered automatic closures. Roughly $9.55 billion in open interest had disappeared during the initial stages, while total crypto liquidations eventually exceeded $19 billion within 24 hours.

However, the latest 49,000 BTC decline comes with an important caveat. The seven-day measurement includes the Sept. 25 expiration of CME’s September Bitcoin futures contract. Contract expirations can mechanically reduce CME open interest as positions expire or are rolled into later-dated contracts.

As a result, the CME portion of the decline should not necessarily be viewed as evidence that institutional investors are abandoning Bitcoin exposure.

Even after accounting for the CME expiration effect, the broader Bitcoin derivatives market has experienced meaningful deleveraging. The combination of falling open interest, subdued funding rates, limited liquidations and relatively stable Bitcoin prices suggests traders have reduced leverage in a more orderly fashion than during previous major derivatives resets.