Bitcoin Open Interest Climbs Above December 2024 Levels, Here’s What Happened Last Time

[Ben Graham]

The Bitcoin open interest has risen rapidly once again, with the price pushing above previous peaks to new all-time highs. The BTC price has also stayed over the $100,000 mark for an extended period of time, triggering a new wave of confidence that the cryptocurrency has found its bottom. This has led to crypto traders making their bets and driving the open interest up, pushing it back above December 2024 levels and May 2025 peaks.

Bitcoin Open Interest Crosses $70 Billion Again

Back in December 2024, the Bitcoin open interest had recorded a new milestone after the volume rose to over $70 billion, marking a new all-time high at the time. The Bitcoin price had also risen sharply at this time and was able to hit $100,000 for the first time in history, triggering even more interest in the asset.

However, once both the price and the open interest hit these milestones, it wasn’t long before the shorters began to take over the market. The Bitcoin price quickly plummeted back down below $100,000, and over the next few months, open interest would crash back down to the $40 billion territory, resulting in a 40% loss by May 2025.

Now, once again, the Bitcoin open interest has crossed the $70 billion mark, sitting close to the $77 billion peak recorded back in May 2025, data from Coinglass shows. In the same vein, the BTC price has been able to maintain above $100,000 and has hit a new all-time high of $117,000. Going by historical performance, it is likely that the Bitcoin price will continue to rise from here, but this break to new all-time highs could carry bearish implications.

This is because it is possible that the trend from December 2024 could play out once again. If this happens, then the Bitcoin price could retrace after hitting new highs, an expected correction as shorts pile up.

BTC Price Risks Another Crash

As the Bitcoin open interest continues to rise and the price has already broken out to new highs, the expectations of a downtrend have become stronger. NewsBTC reported that crypto analyst FriendlyRox expects the Bitcoin price to crash by almost 50%, putting the target as low as $60,000 by the time it’s done.

Crypto analyst and market expert Capo of Crypto has also joined the train, predicting a notable crash event that will send Bitcoin below $100,000 and obliterating altcoins in the process. This comes as institutions are piling into the crypto market, with Bitcoin in the lead, and Capo forecasts a possible ‘Black Swan’ event like the COVID crash.