Divergence in crypto derivatives: BTC open interest rises as traders intend to go short, ETH open interest stabilizes with no sign of panic selling

BlockBeats News, June 26 — Over the past 24 hours, the crypto derivatives market saw large-scale liquidations, with the total liquidation amount reaching approximately 1 billion dollars. Ethereum's liquidation volume surpassed that of Bitcoin. Meanwhile, Bitcoin contract open interest climbed for a second consecutive day to 778,000 BTC, and a sharp increase in open interest at the end of Thursday suggests Bitcoin traders are increasing short positions amid the downtrend. By contrast, since June 15, Ethereum contract open interest has remained stable at around 14 million ETH, with Ethereum traders not actively shorting during the decline. Adjusted by open interest, the 24-hour cumulative trading volume difference shows that short positions continue to dominate among the top 25 cryptocurrencies, with only BNB, SOL, and TON as exceptions.

At the same time, Bitcoin's 30-day annualized implied volatility index jumped to 53%, marking the highest level since June 7; Ethereum's volatility index rose to 66%. In the crypto options market, last week Bitcoin options skew approached 30%, with puts commanding a significant premium. Large trades have already appeared for 53,000 dollar strike puts expiring July 10, reflecting strong demand for downside hedging.