Offshore bitcoin futures with “expiration dates” on offshore platforms have seen trading volume drop by about 97% compared with 2021. At the same time, the entire BTC derivatives market is actually larger. This product hasn’t disappeared—it has been broken up: perpetual futures have taken over directional leverage, while options have taken over hedging—options’ share of open interest in crypto-native BTC derivatives has risen from about one quarter to nearly one half. In January this year, BTC options open interest was about $74.1 billion, first exceeding futures’ $65.2 billion.
A snapshot from Binance on September 18: combined open interest in BTCUSDT and BTCUSDC perps is about $9.9 billion, while the two USD-margined dated contracts (expiring September 25 and December 25) add up to only about $77 million—roughly a 129x difference.
My take: this isn’t a withdrawal of leverage; it’s the market changing hands—positions now belong more to people who already hold the coins and only want to adjust risk. $BTC
Do you still have positions in quarterly dated futures, or did you already end up with only perps and options?
A snapshot from Binance on September 18: combined open interest in BTCUSDT and BTCUSDC perps is about $9.9 billion, while the two USD-margined dated contracts (expiring September 25 and December 25) add up to only about $77 million—roughly a 129x difference.
My take: this isn’t a withdrawal of leverage; it’s the market changing hands—positions now belong more to people who already hold the coins and only want to adjust risk. $BTC
Do you still have positions in quarterly dated futures, or did you already end up with only perps and options?