Bitcoin Futures Market Sees Surge as BTC Nears All-Time High

• Bitcoin perpetual futures open interest returns to $16 billion, but funding rates remain moderate.
• The figure coincides with Bitcoin reaching $71,400 today, led by Binance traders.
• Short-term holder SOPR metric shows controlled profit-taking at 1.017, below the overheating level.

As Bitcoin approaches its all-time high, open interest in the perpetual futures market has climbed back to $16 billion, according to Kaiko Data.

This brings open interest back to levels seen in August, just before a major selloff. The influx of capital indicates increased market participation.

Notably, the latest figure coincides with Bitcoin reclaiming the highly anticipated $70,000 mark, a level it had struggled to achieve for the past four months. Bitcoin is now making substantial progress toward its previous all-time high, reaching an intraday peak of $71,400. This puts it just 3.48% away from the record of $73,750.

Despite the increased activity in the perpetual futures market returning to August highs, funding rates remain moderate. This suggests a tempered demand, even as Bitcoin’s price rises to $71,000. Funding rates reflect the costs associated with holding long or short positions and provide insight into market sentiment.

Binance Whales Drive Bitcoin Uptrend

According to CryptoQuant, the recent rise in Bitcoin’s price can be linked to significant trading activity from Binance whales. CryptoQuant observed that Binance whales have been active during Asian trading hours since October 14, impacting the Coinbase Premium Gap (CPG)—which tracks price differences between Coinbase and Binance. Despite rising Bitcoin prices, the CPG has declined, indicating a “negative premium.”

This negative premium does not reflect a decrease in U.S. demand. Over the past two weeks, U.S. Bitcoin spot ETFs have seen significant inflows of approximately $3.34 billion. Thus, while strong U.S. demand typically leads to a positive CPG, the current negative premium suggests that large Binance traders are primarily driving Bitcoin’s price.

Short-Term Holders Show Modest Profit-Taking

In a separate analysis, CryptoQuant highlighted the Short-Term Holder Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR) for Bitcoin, which currently sits at 1.017. This metric measures profit realization for coins held between one hour and 155 days. Values above 1 indicate that short-term holders are selling at a profit.

Historically, a SOPR level above 1.03 signals that the market is approaching an overheated state. At 1.017, short-term holders are realizing modest profits without excessive profit-taking, leaving room for further price gains.