What Is Open Interest? Crypto Open Interest Explained

Open interest refers to the total number of outstanding derivative contracts in a market, futures and options that remain open because they have not been closed, settled or delivered. Every open contract has two sides: one long position and one short position together make exactly one contract. When open interest (OI) rises, new money is entering the market. When it falls, traders exit positions or get liquidated. On Binance's BTCUSDT perpetual, open interest stood at 98,389 bitcoin, or $6.72 billion, on November 14, 2026.