Derivatives Daily: Sep 28 BTC OI Hits $29.5B as $198.5M Liquidates
The derivatives market opened Sep. 28 with $130.7B in global open interest and $198.5M in 24-hour liquidations. Shorts absorbed the larger shock at $114.4M, versus $84.0M for longs, suggesting that the latest move higher has pressured bearish positioning more aggressively than bullish leverage. The market-wide 24-hour futures volume was $112.5B, keeping the liquidation event meaningful but not yet disorderly relative to overall activity.
Short liquidations lead the market structure
Within the 24-hour liquidation total, Bitcoin accounted for $35.0M, including $25.5M in short liquidations and $9.5M in long liquidations. Ethereum followed with $30.5M, but its balance was more even: $17.8M in long liquidations and $12.7M in shorts. QNT was the third-largest liquidation pocket at $25.9M, driven by $18.8M in shorts, while SOL recorded $18.3M and NEAR $10.1M.
The time structure shows that stress accelerated beyond the short-term window. One-hour liquidations totaled $5.3M, with shorts at $2.9M, while the four-hour total reached $55.0M. The 12-hour figure was $107.6M, including $66.3M in longs. This progression points to a sustained repricing rather than a single isolated liquidation print. The average funding rate was 0.0044% per 8 hours, positive but still moderate, while the 90-day altcoin season reading rose to 80, with 40 of 50 sampled assets outperforming Bitcoin.
ETF demand supports the underlying bid
Institutional flows remain a constructive counterweight to leverage. Bitcoin ETFs recorded a latest daily inflow of $134.5M on Sep. 25, taking the seven-day total to $2.98B. Daily flows were positive across all seven reported sessions, ranging from $134.5M to $999.0M, and cumulative ETF flows reached $57.6B. Reported Bitcoin ETF assets under management stood at $108.4B.
Ethereum ETFs also stayed firmly positive over the same seven-day period. The latest session brought in $86.9M, while the seven-day sum reached $794.4M. The only negative reading in the window was $39.2M on Sep. 17; every subsequent session was positive, and cumulative flows reached $14.0B. Ethereum ETF assets under management were $17.8B. The contrast is important: spot-linked demand is still adding exposure even as derivatives traders are being forced to close shorts.
Options define the near-term Bitcoin map
Bitcoin was priced at $84,454.14 when the options data was captured, with total options open interest of $29.5B and a 24-hour options volume of $8.3M. The open-interest put-call ratio was 0.5158, while the volume ratio was 0.3831, indicating a call-heavy activity mix.
Near-term max pain is clustered around current levels. The Sep. 28 expiry has max pain at $84,000, Sep. 29 at $85,500, Sep. 30 at $84,000, and Oct. 1 at $84,500. The larger Oct. 2 expiry has max pain at $82,000 and total open interest of $2.2B. That creates a near-term magnet zone around $84,000-$85,500, with $82,000 as the more important downside reference if support fails.
Verdict: The bias is cautiously bullish while Bitcoin holds above $84,000, because ETF inflows remain positive and short liquidations dominate. The key upside test is $85,500, while the main downside level is $82,000; global OI at $130.7B and Bitcoin options OI at $29.5B show that positioning remains substantial. This view is invalidated if Bitcoin breaks and holds below $82,000 while global OI remains above $130.7B, signaling fresh leverage-led weakness rather than a simple liquidation reset. Data as of 08:05 Beijing time on Sep 28, covering Binance, OKX, Bybit and other major venues.