Bitcoin traders have stacked more than $41 billion into futures contracts while options markets on Binance, Deribit and OKX price max pain thousands of dollars above the current $64,711 spot price. At the same time, Bitcoin's funding rate has turned negative even as spot buyers push the price higher, a divergence traders are watching closely.
Bitcoin traded at $64,711 on Aug. 5, while options markets across major exchanges priced targets thousands of dollars above spot. Binance's max pain for the Dec. 25 expiry approaches $80,000.
Deribit puts its max pain near $69,700 for both September and December. OKX places its own max pain near $69,000 for the same two months.
Futures open interest tops $41 billion
Traders have stacked more than $41 billion into bitcoin futures, according to Coinglass.com data logged Wednesday. Binance controls the largest share, holding 148,500 BTC worth $9.61 billion in outstanding contracts.
CME ranks second at 102,840 BTC after its open interest jumped 6.82% in a single day, the kind of move that often shows larger desks rebuilding exposure. That rebound in futures positioning follows a slide from about $90 billion last September and October, when bitcoin traded above $120,000, to roughly $43 billion by June.
Options bulls hold the edge, but new bets look cautious
Call options — which profit if bitcoin rises — total 254,394 BTC in open interest versus 156,227 BTC in puts, a 62-38 split favoring bulls. Over the past 24 hours, call and put volume has been almost evenly split, showing new capital hesitating even as older positions stay tilted higher. The three-month annualized futures basis has climbed to roughly 4.3% across Binance, Deribit and OKX, up sharply from near 0.3% in late April.
Spot buyers push through negative funding
Bitcoin's perpetual funding rate has turned negative, meaning short sellers are paying long holders to keep positions open. Spot buyers pushed BTC up roughly 1.2% on the day, a divergence traders watch closely.
Analysts at K33, CoinGlass and Glassnode say negative funding typically reflects a structural discount of futures to spot rather than broad bearish conviction. According to VanEck, 30-day bitcoin returns averaged 11.5% during negative-funding periods, versus 4.5% overall.
Leverage keeps getting wiped out
Liquidations tied to leverage have hit both sides of the market over the past month. Binance longs lost roughly $70 million on July 6 and another $65 million on July 14.
Shorts also lost $30 million to $40 million on July 9 and 10. By Aug. 1, longs lost another $50 million, reinforcing that leveraged bets keep unwinding regardless of direction.
The next CME expiries will show whether the futures basis holds above 4% or slips back.
Sources: Bitcoin News, Crypto Briefing
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
