Bitcoin Open Interest Drops 12% in 24 Hours as Traders Turn Risk-Averse
Forecast Trend Report by Period
Bitcoin's derivatives market is showing a pullback in leverage rather than a buildup in fresh short positions as the cryptocurrency weakens, according to an analysis.
On July 13, on-chain analyst Axel Adler Jr. wrote in a newsletter that Bitcoin open interest fell 12% over the past 24 hours, while the pressure index dropped below its 30-day average. The move points to deleveraging, not new short positioning.
Bitcoin was down 1.9% over the past 24 hours, trading near $62,800. Adler said the more significant shift was in the derivatives market rather than in the spot price.
The pressure index for Bitcoin perpetual futures fell about 11 points over the past six hours to 46, Adler wrote. The indicator had been in a 57 to 61 range a day earlier, then fell below 50 and dropped under its roughly 58 30-day average.
A reading below 50 indicates overall buying pressure has weakened. A move back above 58 would be the first sign of a recovery, he wrote.
Open interest declined in 21 of the past 24 hours. The total drop was about 12%, with the steepest hourly declines at 1.7% and 1.4%.
Adler said Bitcoin is now in a deleveraging phase, with positions being liquidated or closed as prices fall. If open interest had risen alongside the decline in price, that would have suggested an influx of new short positions. Instead, the current pattern points elsewhere.
He said the move looks more like deleveraging and weakening demand than a structural breakdown or a fresh wave of short positions. The market backdrop remains neutral, but tilted toward risk aversion.
