Binance Bitcoin Open Interest Sheds 17% as Liquidations Hit 2021 Highs

Bitcoin's leveraged trade is unwinding fast. Open interest on Binance's bitcoin futures and perpetual contracts has dropped 17% in less than a month, now at $8.8 billion after sitting at $10.6 billion, according to analyst Darkfost. Over the same stretch, the 180-day moving average for that metric ticked up to $8.6 billion from $8.4 billion.

The liquidation tape is just as loud. Binance notched its highest monthly liquidation totals since 2021 across the last three months, Darkfost reported: more than $1.4 billion in August, $1.1 billion in September and roughly $1.3 billion in October. November had already burned through more than $520 million in liquidations before the month's second half.

Price structure isn't helping the bulls. According to That Martini Guy, BTC keeps printing lower highs and lower lows, and $76,400 — once a major support zone — has flipped into resistance after multiple failed attempts to reclaim it. Bitcoin traded near $73,500 with $72,700 emerging as the nearest support level, per the analyst.

CoinGecko puts bitcoin at $73,473.08, with about $24.17 billion in daily trading volume. The asset is down 0.45% over 24 hours and 8.64% over the past seven days.

Darkfost tied the deleveraging signal to the tail end of corrections during bullish phases, pointing to June, when BTC traded below $60,000 before rebounding above $87,000 for gains exceeding 45%. He also suggested calm volatility nudged traders toward heavier leverage to chase bigger returns — a setup that snaps when positions run short on margin, and one he warned can keep unwinding for months if a bear market takes hold.

Falling open interest means traders are either closing positions by choice or getting forced out, which can drain cascading liquidation risk and leave spot demand steering the next move. The levels to watch are clear: a break under $72,700 could open another leg lower, while reclaiming $76,400 would be the first sign of a healthier market structure.