Bitcoin traded between $112,800 and $113,200 during the morning session on Aug. 21, while derivatives data pointed to a market still adding exposure near the highs. Total bitcoin futures open interest reached 711,180 BTC, worth about $80.98 billion, up 0.59% over four hours and 1.05% over 24 hours. The figures suggest that leverage has continued to build even as spot prices pause just below the $113,000 level.
Futures exposure remains concentrated on major venues
By exchange, CME led the market with $16.70 billion in notional open interest, accounting for 20.62% of the total. Binance followed with $14.44 billion, or 17.82%, while Bybit posted $9.29 billion and Gate stood at $8.59 billion. Elsewhere, Bitget held $6.04 billion, and OKX reported $4.18 billion, with gains of 1.08% over four hours and 2.00% over 24 hours. Across venues, the open-interest-to-24-hour-volume ratio was 1.1181, underscoring a market where positions remain sizable relative to recent turnover.
Options open interest favors calls, but recent trading leaned defensive
In the options market, aggregate positioning still showed a bullish tilt. According to coinglass data, calls made up 59.05% of total open interest, or about 268,086.55 BTC, compared with 40.95% for puts, equal to 185,910.34 BTC. However, the last 24 hours of trading flow leaned modestly in the opposite direction: puts represented 52.40% of options volume at 18,172.81 BTC, while calls accounted for 47.60%, or 16,505.1 BTC. That split suggests longer-dated positioning remains optimistic, even as short-term traders appear more focused on hedging downside risk.
Strike distribution on Deribit highlighted strong interest in higher upside targets. The largest open interest sat in the Sept. 26, 2025 $140,000 call with 10,785.3 BTC, followed by the Dec. 26, 2025 $140,000 call at 10,166 BTC. The Dec. 26, 2025 $200,000 call also carried a sizable 8,523.4 BTC in open interest. On the put side, the biggest position was the Sept. 26, 2025 $95,000 put, holding 8,122 BTC.
Near-term put demand picks up ahead of Powell remarks
Recent volume showed especially strong interest in short-dated puts. The Aug. 22, 2025 $112,000 put traded 1,765.5 BTC, the $114,000 put cleared 1,578.5 BTC, and the Aug. 29, 2025 $120,000 put saw 1,571.9 BTC in activity. Call volume was lighter, led by the Aug. 29, 2025 $115,000 call with 1,173.5 BTC and the $110,000 call with 1,163.8 BTC.
Liquidations were active but not extreme compared with earlier in the week. Over the past 24 hours, the crypto market saw $302.58 million in liquidations, including $98.48 million in longs and $204.10 million in shorts, affecting 84,016 traders. The single largest event was a $39.08 million BTC-USDT liquidation on HTX. With bitcoin holding near cycle highs, futures open interest elevated across major venues, and options flow showing a mix of long-term upside bets and short-term caution, traders are now closely watching Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s upcoming Jackson Hole comments for the next major catalyst.