3am. Red portfolio. Position liquidated. I had one tab still open. That was the night my $5,400 vanished into the abyss of a market maker's pocket because I treated price action like a simple street map, ignoring the fuel—Open Interest—driving the vehicle. OI is the total number of outstanding derivative contracts that haven't been settled. It is the raw measurement of capital flow, not just price movement. When OI rises alongside price, new money is flooding into the market, suggesting a strong trend with legs. When price rises but OI drops, you are witnessing a short squeeze or profit-taking exhaustion; the rally is running on fumes and will likely collapse.
Look at $BTC last week. We saw price surge, but OI flatlined. Most...