Bitcoin Futures Pass $1B in Open Interest on BitMEX for First Time Since March Crash

Open interest for bitcoin futures on BitMEX – the largest derivatives exchange by open interest – passed $1 billion Tuesday morning for the first time since the cryptocurrency market crash in March, a sign of life in a very quiet market.

• Open interest for bitcoin futures across all cryptocurrency exchanges broke above $4 billion for the first time since March, according to data from Skew.
• Before the March crash, open interest for bitcoin futures on BitMEX was about $1.2 billion.
• As open interest grew Tuesday morning, bitcoin gained more than 2%, breaking above $9,400, according to Bitstamp.
• "Open Interest on BitMEX has been climbing steadily, and we’re encouraged to see it surpass the symbolic $1 billion mark again," said Greg Dwyer, head of business development at BitMEX.
• Bitcoin volatility and trading volumes remain low, however, as traders wait for decisive price movement in either direction.
• "During this current stretch of relatively low volatility, we’re seeing traders accumulate positions on our platform in readiness for what we believe is likely to be a significant uptick in volatility later in the year," Dwyer told CoinDesk.

Update (July 21, 15:26 UTC): This article has been updated with a comment from BitMEX.