K33 Research: Bitcoin perpetual futures open interest reaches two-year high, increasing short-term downside risk

ChainCatcher reported that K33 Head of Research Vetle Lunde warned in the latest report that Bitcoin's recent weak performance may persist, as leverage has surged sharply and a large amount of capital has flowed into Ethereum, putting further downward pressure on Bitcoin.

The report shows that Bitcoin perpetual futures nominal open interest has risen to its highest level in two years, surpassing 310,000 BTC (about $34 billion). In the past two months alone, 41,607 BTC have been added, with a surge of 13,472 BTC just last weekend, which may indicate a market turning point.

Lunde analyzed that the surge in open interest, combined with the annualized funding rate jumping from 3% to nearly 11%, reflects that long positions have become overly aggressive during the price consolidation phase. This pattern of leverage accumulation is similar to situations before several major market corrections in history, so investors should remain vigilant.