Bitcoin’s derivatives market action showed strong engagement this weekend as futures open interest surged past $82 billion, while options activity reflected a slight bullish tilt.
Bitcoin Derivatives Market Expands as Spot Price Consolidates
During the morning trading sessions, bitcoin was trading at $117,860 in spot markets, with an intraday range between $116,956 and $118,493. Futures activity remained the focal point of derivatives trading, with open interest (OI) totaling 699,620 BTC, or about $82.44 billion in notional value.
Bitcoin futures open interest, according to coinglass.com stats on Aug. 16, 2025.
CME Group continued to lead the market with $17.1 billion in open interest, accounting for 20.7% of total positioning. Binance followed with $15.07 billion, while Bybit held $9.66 billion. Among notable changes, Gate’s futures open interest rose sharply over the past day, climbing more than 21%, while Binance and OKX saw declines of 2.4% and 4.5%, respectively.
The broader trend shows steady growth in futures exposure, with CoinGlass data indicating a strong correlation between bitcoin’s spot price and the rising level of open interest. The current trajectory places aggregate futures activity near all-time highs, highlighting elevated participation from both institutional and retail traders.
On the options side, Deribit remained the dominant venue, with the largest open interest concentrated in December 2025 contracts. The single biggest position was the $140,000 call expiring Dec. 26, with more than 10,800 BTC in open contracts. Other high-interest strikes include $200,000 calls and $95,000 puts.
Overall, options open interest stood at 407,278 BTC, with calls representing 61.4% of outstanding contracts compared with 38.6% for puts. However, trading volume over the past 24 hours leaned slightly bearish, with puts making up 53.9% of activity. The divergence suggests investors are positioning for potential upside over the long term, while hedging near-term downside risk.