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Bitcoin Open Interest Hits $72B—Are We Nearing a Liquidity Frenzy?

Bitcoin Open Interest Hits $72B—Are We Nearing a Liquidity Frenzy?

Published:
2025-05-21 12:05:00
20
3

Derivatives traders just piled another mountain of dry powder into crypto’s oldest arena. With $72 billion in Bitcoin open interest now sloshing around futures markets, the question isn’t whether records will break—but who gets liquidated when the leverage snaps.

Wall Street’s usual ’risk management’ playbook? Probably collecting dust next to their 2022 Terra Luna post-mortems. Meanwhile, the real action’s in the perpetual swaps—where crypto’s degenerate heart still beats fastest.

A human silhouette personifying Bitcoin, victorious and dynamic posture, standing on the top of the mountain

In Brief

  • Bitcoin’s record open interest of $72 billion increases the risk of massive liquidations.
  • US debt is pushing investors to shift gold reserves towards bitcoin.

Open Interest on Bitcoin: Record Leverage and Imminent Liquidations

The cryptocurrency market today seems marked by a. Specifically, it has reached an all-time high of 72 billion dollars. This represents an 8% increase in just one week.

For many crypto experts, this figure demonstrates increased confidence from institutional investors in the:

  • the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) with 16.9 billion open positions;
  • followed by Binance with 12 billion.

However, thiscarries significant risk for bitcoin. 1.2 billion dollars in short positions concentrated between $107,000 and $108,000 risk being liquidated if a breakout occurs.

These forced liquidations could:

  • trigger a domino effect;
  • amplify volatility;
  • push the BTC price beyond its recent ceilings.
BTCUSDT chart by TradingView

Bitcoin Facing US Debt and Institutional Flows

The macroeconomic situation heavily weighs on the financial market. This mainly refers to the US budget debt which creates persistent uncertainty. Adding to this is the rise in 20-year Treasury bond yields. This context indeed pushes investors to seek alternative hedging strategies, with.

In parallel, notable movements are observed with the possible reallocation of part of the digital gold reserves towards BTC. A modest rotation of 5% of US gold reserves WOULD equate to an inflow of 105 billion dollars. This represents about one million BTC at $105,000.

This dynamic illustrates BTC’s growing role in diversifying institutional portfolios, as evidenced by the levels of open interest on the futures markets.

As Bitcoin approaches $108,000, a record open interest could create a dynamic conducive to a new all-time high (ATH). However, volatility always requires caution. To be continued…

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