Bitcoin rises 22% but leverage financing declines

Bitcoin has risen by around 22% over the past few days, but the underlying derivatives market shows a striking pattern. Open interest, measured in coins, actually fell to its lowest level in at least a month. That suggests the price rise was not driven by increasing leverage positions, but that positions were actually scaled back while the price moved higher.

Bitcoin is available on OKX and Bybit.

In short:

• Bitcoin rose from an average of $63.500 in the period 12 to 18 August to $77.700 on 23 August.
• Open interest in coins fell by 11%, from around 353,500 BTC to around 312,600 BTC.
• In dollar terms, open interest rose by 8%, because the price increase was greater than the decline in the number of outstanding contracts.

Rally without rising leverage positions

Analytics platform Santiment says, based on its data, that the recent Bitcoin rally shows remarkably few signs of increasing leverage financing. The price rose from an average of $63.500 in the week of 12 to 18 August to $77.700 on 23 August. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $77.200.

At the same time, open interest in Bitcoin futures, expressed in coins, fell from around 353,500 BTC to around 312,600 BTC on 23 August. That is a decline of approximately 11% and the lowest level in at least a month. Open interest is the total number of outstanding contracts on the derivatives market and serves as a gauge for the degree of leverage in the market.

Dollar value conceals the true picture

In dollar terms, open interest actually rose by around 8% over the same period. That seems contradictory, but can be explained by the fact that the price rose faster than the number of outstanding contracts declined. Only when open interest is expressed in coins does the actual reduction in leverage positions become visible.

According to Santiment, that distinction is relevant for interpreting the rally. A strong price rise accompanied by increasing leverage positions often points to speculation-driven price behaviour that is more vulnerable to sharp corrections. In this case, positions were actually liquidated during the rise, after which the rally continued on the basis of fewer outstanding contracts. Earlier, the Bitcoin rally also led to the largest inflow wave at Binance since February.

How sustainable the current move is without a renewed build-up of leverage positions remains an open question for the time being. Analysts such as Michaël van de Poppe expect a further rise towards $81.000 to $83.000 before altcoins begin a rally of their own. Open interest on decentralised perpetual platforms also recently rose to a peak in 2026, which indicates that the derivatives market is indeed active in a broader sense.