Since the massive forced liquidations last October, the Bitcoin derivatives market has yet to fully recover. On-chain analyst Darkfost points out that while open interest has rebounded from its lows, the overall size remains lower than before the event, and trading activity is more concentrated on platforms with deeper liquidity.
Open interest has not yet been recovered.
On October 10th, Bitcoin open interest plummeted by approximately 71,000 BTC within 24 hours, corresponding to over $11 billion in positions being forcibly liquidated. This volatility is considered one of the largest liquidation events in Bitcoin history.
As of now, the total open interest in the market is approximately 351,000 BTC, down from nearly 375,000 BTC on October 9th, a difference of about 24,000 BTC. This means that although the market has rebounded, the recovery is not yet complete.
In dollar terms, the decline is even more pronounced. Bitcoin derivatives open interest rose to a high of approximately $47 billion on October 6th, fell to approximately $33 billion on October 11th, and has since further declined to approximately $26 billion. It had previously dipped to around $20 billion in early March of this year. The above data only includes cryptocurrency exchanges and does not include the CME Group.
Binance's market share continues to rise
Among major cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance has seen its Bitcoin open interest increase by approximately 7,000 BTC since the forced liquidation, making it one of the few platforms to have completed the recovery. Meanwhile, other exchanges have not yet returned to pre-incident levels.
This also drove Binance's open interest ratio among crypto exchanges up from about 30% to over 36%, indicating that funds are more inclined to concentrate on platforms with stronger liquidity and market depth.
Currently, Binance's open interest in Bitcoin contracts exceeds $9 billion, while CME's exceeds $6 billion, with the gap between the two narrowing significantly compared to previous levels. Compared to their peak, Binance reached approximately $15 billion, while CME approached $18 billion, with the latter experiencing a larger decline.
The decline was more pronounced on the institutional side.
Looking at a longer timeframe, retail-driven platforms are recovering more steadily. Binance's current level is already higher than the pre-liquidation low of approximately $7.5 billion in 2025, indicating that retail funding, after a period of contraction, has largely returned to its comparable range from last year.
In contrast, CME's recovery has been weaker. Its open interest rose above $20 billion in December 2024, fell back to around $10 billion in April 2025, and is currently around $6 billion. Even in mid-May, CME's open interest remained around $9.5 billion, but has now declined again.
This means that the forced liquidation in October will have a more lasting impact on institutional holdings, but it doesn't necessarily indicate a medium- to long-term collapse. The article mentions that in October 2024, before Trump's election victory, Bitcoin's open interest on the CME will be roughly the same as it is now, while Binance's level will be lower at that time.
Overall, the Bitcoin derivatives market remains in a consolidation and recovery phase. Following the forced liquidations, the market has not returned to its previous expansion pace, and funds continue to concentrate on leading trading platforms.
