The return of traders to leveraged positions poses a risk of new waves of liquidations in the bitcoin market. This warning comes from CryptoQuant analyst known as Darkfost, who studied the dynamics of open interest on Binance.
đď¸ Bitcoin experienced its sharpest deleveraging since 2023
After a cycle largely dominated by futures volumes, Bitcoin has just gone through its sharpest deleveraging phase since 2023.
This showed up as a marked decline in Binance’s Open Interest, which dropped below its⌠pic.twitter.com/KtSU6C6nWS
â Darkfost (@Darkfost_Coc) September 7, 2026
Traders Return to Futures
During the correction, the bitcoin market experienced its sharpest deleveraging since 2023, noted Darkfost. Open interest on Binance fell below the 180-day average. According to him, this reflects the strength and speed of the movement.
The expert described the closure of oversized positions as a necessary correction phase. Despite this, open interest on the exchange remains elevated at $9.6 billion compared to the 180-day average of $8.3 billion, or about 37% of the total for the leading cryptocurrency.
Darkfost linked the return of traders to supporting the current rebound but pointed out the downside of this trend: a market with excessive leverage eventually triggers new waves of forced position closures.
Retail Investors Sell on the Rise
The rise in bitcoin was primarily driven by futures trading, but buyer activity in this segment has begun to weaken, noted CryptoQuant contributor CW8900. At the same time, the spot demand indicator has turned negative.
The negative value of Bitcoin spot demand is the effect of selling by retail investors.
âThey are continuing to sell despite the rising price of bitcoin:native. They have acclimated to the decline and are selling during this uptrends.â â By @CW8900
Link ⤾ď¸âŚ pic.twitter.com/DNNaMscpIl
â CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) September 7, 2026
He attributed this trend to the actions of retail investors: their holdings are decreasing even as prices recover. The analyst suggested that after a prolonged decline, these participants have adapted to the downturn and are using the rebound to sell coins.
In contrast, large holders continue to accumulate the leading cryptocurrency. CW8900 highlighted their purchases as a positive factor amid the overall weakness of the spot market.
The analyst warned that the continuation of this trend could interrupt the upward movement. In his view, a sustainable rally is impossible without increased spot demand.
Currently, bitcoin is trading around $79,300. Over the past day, its price has decreased by 0.1%.
Earlier, on the night of September 3 to 4, the leading cryptocurrency tested $82,000. Within a day, the volume of liquidations in the crypto market reached $536 million, with $457 million attributed to short positions.
