Uniswap Open Interest Jumps 17.3% as $749.8M Enters Perpetuals
Uniswap is trading at $9.44 after a 7.0% rise, while its perpetual open interest has expanded 17.3% in 24 hours to $749.8M. That combination makes UNI an active derivatives hotspot: capital is arriving quickly, but the liquidation and positioning data suggest the advance is being powered more by short covering than by uniformly aggressive long entries.
Binance leads the OI expansion
Binance holds the largest UNI open-interest share at 35.7%, or $267.4M, and its OI is up 24.5% over 24 hours. Bybit is the next major venue at 14.2% and $106.8M, with a smaller 6.4% daily increase but a stronger 5.7% rise over the latest four-hour window. OKX contributes 7.9%, or $59.5M, after a 9.8% daily increase.
The most aggressive relative expansion is on Gate: its $37.6M position base is only 5.0% of the market, yet OI has jumped 65.1% in 24 hours and 10.9% over four hours. This makes Gate an important marginal signal, while Binance remains the venue most capable of shaping the overall trend. Across the market, volume has also gained 43.3%, giving the OI surge meaningful trading activity rather than a purely passive increase in leverage.
Funding is positive, but not uniformly overheated
Current funding rates are broadly positive. Binance, Bybit, Bitget and Gate each show 0.010%, while OKX is lower at 0.0049%. That spread matters: long holders are paying across the dominant venues, but the cost is not yet equally elevated everywhere. Lighter is the outlier at 0.0696%, whereas CoinEx is sharply negative at -0.1723%, showing that smaller venues can carry a very different positioning balance.
The cross-market average funding rate is 0.0022% on an eight-hour basis, while the futures basis is -0.0212%, equivalent to -7.8% annualized. In other words, positive periodic funding is coexisting with a negative basis. That is consistent with a fast spot-led rebound or defensive futures pricing, rather than a fully settled leveraged-long consensus.
Shorts are absorbing the immediate squeeze
The liquidation structure is decisively short-heavy in the shorter windows. The latest hour recorded $11.2K in short liquidations against only $243.93 in longs. Over four hours, shorts accounted for $118.8K versus $6.3K for longs, and over 12 hours the split was $1.34M short and $1.12M long. Across 24 hours, total liquidations reached $3.1M, with $1.7M from shorts and $1.4M from longs.
The largest recorded long liquidation was $127.0K at $9.132, while a $81.5K short liquidation occurred at $9.782. This creates a practical map: $9.132 is the downside stress point, while $9.782 marks an upside area where trapped shorts have already been forced out.
Positioning adds a useful warning. Account data shows 62.6% long overall, with Binance at 62.0% and Bybit at 61.9%. Yet taker flow is close to neutral: Binance takers are 50.8% long, OKX 51.8%, and Gate 52.1%. The gap between account bias and active execution implies many traders remain positioned for upside, but immediate market orders are not showing a comparable level of conviction.
Market context also includes plans for Uniswap futures at CME, subject to the stated launch process, which could improve institutional visibility around the token’s derivatives market.
Verdict: UNI retains a bullish squeeze bias while price holds above $9.132 and total OI stays near or above $749.8M; a push through $9.782 would favor another short-covering leg. That view is invalidated by a break below $9.132 accompanied by OI falling under $749.8M, which would signal failed leverage expansion rather than healthy continuation. Data as of 06:05 Beijing time on Sep 23, covering Binance, OKX, Bybit and other major venues.