Bitcoin and Ethereum Open Interest Stays High

September 22, 2025 Bitcoin (BTC), and Ethereum (ETH) experienced the largest weekly single-day drop. However, statistics give a different account. The Open interest (OI), which is a measure of the outstanding contracts of futures, is a good proxy of the market leverage and trader sentiments. Large OI can often be converted into greater volatility since more traders will be subject to unexpected liquidations in case prices turn against them.

Ethereium vs. Bitcoin

Bitcoin OI has also been increasing significantly over the last few months, as compared to the previous months this year, which indicates that investors still rely on leverage. Ether, in its turn, looks even more dangerous. According to Glassnode data, ETH OI has gone back to almost annual highs partially due to the futures and ETF-based capital inflows.

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The fluctuations of Ethereum prices are more prone to sharp corrections compared to Bitcoin since the fluctuations of the latter are more stable at the core, whereas the former are more prone to massive shifts as the leverage increases.

Historical Resonances

The risks are real according to history. The 2018 crypto crash was a 65% month loss in BTC. In a study published in the Journal of Risk and Financial Management in 2019, the researchers found that leveraged futures exacerbated the declines by 2030 percent because of cascading liquidations.

In more recent times, May 19, 2021, saw a liquidation event of up to 21.9 billion in the market, which was one of the largest ones in the crypto history. Those clearouts temporarily re-established leverage levels and made the market stable. In comparison, this week decrease, though painful, seems to have spared a significant part of leveraged positions.