Bitcoin open interest declines as leverage eases

Bitcoin open interest has been falling, indicating lower leverage, according to Santiment. Santiment said BTC rose from $63,500 to $77,700 between Aug. 12 and Aug. 18, while open interest fell 11% to around 312,600 BTC on Aug. 23 from about 353,500 BTC before the rally. The analytics firm added that this was measured in BTC terms, while U.S. dollar-denominated open interest rose about 8%. As the price climbed more than open interest did, open interest declined only in BTC terms. Unlike prior moves, Santiment said BTC’s gains were driven by spot buying, while many futures positions were cleared out during the rally.