Bitcoin Traders Step Back In After Longest Deleveraging Since 2022

Bitcoin derivatives traders are moving back into the market after an eight-month deleveraging phase, according to CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost, with Binance futures open interest now back above its 180-day moving average. The shift suggests risk appetite is returning after one of the longest reductions in leveraged exposure since the 2022 bear market.

Bitcoin Traders Are Returning

Darkfost said the deleveraging period began after the October 10 event, as Bitcoin’s correction coincided with a worsening global macroeconomic and geopolitical backdrop. In that environment, traders reduced exposure across derivatives markets, with Binance futures activity showing a sustained contraction.

“Since the October 10 event, Bitcoin has gone through a prolonged deleveraging phase across derivatives markets, represented here through Binance futures activity,” Darkfost wrote. “Following the October 10 event, combined with the deterioration in the global macroeconomic and geopolitical backdrop, traders largely opted to reduce risk. This deleveraging phase on Binance lasted roughly 8 months.”

Bitcoin Deleveraging Signal | Source: X @Darkfost_Coc

The analyst’s framework identifies deleveraging periods when open interest falls below its 180-day moving average. In market terms, that suggests futures activity is declining as corrections force liquidations, position closures and a broader reduction in investor exposure. For Bitcoin, the latest stretch was notable not only for its duration, but for how closely it resembled the setup seen in 2022 before the FTX collapse triggered another wave of liquidations.

The turning point appears to have emerged in early May. Binance open interest has risen from $6.4 billion in March to roughly $8.96 billion, Darkfost said, moving back above its 180-day average of about $8.75 billion. That crossover matters because it signals that derivatives activity is no longer in contraction relative to its medium-term trend.

“Since early May, however, the trend appears to be shifting,” the analyst wrote. “Binance Open Interest has risen from $6.4B in March to around $8.96B today, moving back above its 180 day average currently sitting near $8.75B. This effectively signals the end of the deleveraging period.”