Bitcoin open interest drops to $20.4B as market deleveraging deepens

Bitcoin open interest dropped to $20.4 billion as persistent deleveraging pushed the largest cryptocurrency below a critical support-resistance zone near $60,000.

"Buyers have so far lacked the conviction required to establish a sustained recovery, leaving price range-bound near local lows," Glassnode said in its Market Pulse bulletin on Monday.

Open interest across all venues stood at $20.4 billion as of June 30, down more than 50% from the July 2025 peak, Coinglass data show. BTC changed hands at $59,075 at 09:40 UTC, according to CoinGecko, after failing to reclaim the $60,000 level. The 200-day moving average at $75,500 and the short-term holder cost basis at $69,600 both sat well above the spot price, CoinDesk data show.

The unwind has been driven by macro factors rather than crypto-specific forced liquidations, according to Adam Haeems, head of asset management at Tesseract Group. Record spot bitcoin ETF outflows, a stronger US dollar and the Federal Reserve's hawkish pivot under Chair Kevin Warsh have weighed on prices, he said. The next major on-chain support sits near the realized price of $53,200, with historical bear market patterns suggesting a potential bottom closer to $45,000.

The current downturn differs from the June 2022 crypto crash, which was triggered by the collapse of Terra-Luna and a cascade of bankruptcies including Celsius, BlockFi and Three Arrows Capital, Haeems said. "Strip that internal cascade out and you have what we are looking at this month — a repricing that started outside crypto and is being expressed through clean channels," he said.

Bitcoin's 24-hour trading volume reached $28.3 billion, below the seven-day average, signaling reduced participation. The market remains in a phase of structural adjustment as capital continues to contract, Glassnode said, with spot markets experiencing persistent net selling despite increased trading activity.

US stocks rose Monday on renewed optimism over US-Iran peace talks, with President Donald Trump saying Iran had requested a meeting in Doha. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both opened higher, but the positive risk-asset mood failed to lift bitcoin above $60,000. QCP Capital cautioned that oil prices could rebound if supply recovery proves slower than expected, adding a potential headwind for crypto.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.