Bitcoin Futures Market provides an important lens for identifying and investigating market behavior. Analyzing open interest and volume reveals how this behavior differs between exchanges.
Low open interest and massive disparities illustrate a variety of trader profiles and strategic approaches to futures trading. Based on Coinglass data, there is clear divergence across major centralized exchanges.
Open Interest stands at $16.72 billion in CME, $110.1 billion in Binance, $8.4 billion in Bybit, $7.38 billion in Gate.io and $118.83 million in Coinbase. Meanwhile, 24-hour trading volume shifts rankings: Binance leads at $141.1 billion, followed by $11.47 billion, Bybit $6.63 billion, Coinbase $8.27 billion, Gate. The io is $2.666 billion.
This variation highlights important questions. Why does exchanges with smaller open interest pools generate disproportionately high trading volumes?
Open Interest ($b) Volume ($b) Volume/Open Inast Ratio CME 16.72 11.47 0.686Binance11.01 14.10 1.279Bit8.40 6.63 0.789 gate.io 7.38 2.66 0.360Coinbase0.11883 8.27 69.611
Volume to open profit ratio quantifies the frequency of transactions compared to unresolved positions. For CME, the ratio is 0.69, indicating that daily volume is below open interest, suggesting a market where positions are held rather than frequently traded. Binance recorded a ratio of 1.28, reflects volume, exceeds open interest and refers to active departures.
The ratios of 0.79 and 0.36 bibits at gate.io suggest moderate and low turnover, respectively. However, Coinbase is apart at a ratio of 69.61. That is, its volume is almost 70 times its open interest.
The contract specifications provide insight into these patterns. CME offers standard Bitcoin futures at 5 btc per contract, at $485,715 each, with 0.1 BTC micro-bitcoin futures, or $9,714 per contract. The $16.72 billion open interest is likely to reflect primarily standard contracts, equivalent to 34,424 open positions, with 23,615 contracts trading at $11.47 billion daily.
Binance, Bybit, and gate.io are standardized at 1 btc per contract, worth $97,143 each. Coinbase’s Nano Bitcoin futures account for 122,325 open contracts at 0.01 BTC or $971.43 per contract, but 8.5 million people trade and the amount of their characterization is shown.
Although the volume data for Coinbase futures may be skewed, the major differences between IT and other exchanges are still driven by the trader composition and platform characteristics. Binance and Coinbase serve retailers who are engaged primarily in short-term strategies and engaged in open and closed positions within a day. This behavior increases volume without significantly increasing open interest as positions are resolved rapidly.
One BTC contract from Binance allows for up to 20x leverage, spurs 145,145 transactions against 113,339 open positions, reflecting speculative bending. Coinbase amplifies this trend with Nano contracts, lowering capital thresholds and enabling 8.5 million transactions – well beyond 122,325 open contracts.
Conversely, CMEs cater to institutional participants, such as hedge funds and companies hedge exposure. The 34,424 open contracts have extended 23,615 traded 23,615, indicating a preference for long-term holdings within the regulated framework, consistent with its low turnover.
The structure of each of these exchanges plays an important role in creating inconsistencies between the OI and the volume. The enduring future that is prevalent in Binance, Bybit, and gate.io has a funding rate. As traders accumulate in long positions utilised, rising financing rates of vinance can explain that volume exceeds open profits.
Meanwhile, futures in Coinbase deliverables, which lacked funding rates, were tied to an expiration cycle, as evidenced by the February 28 contract with 56,931 openings and 114,653 transactions. You may see the volume spikes. CME quarterly contracts, often used for hedging, show stability rather than quick turnover and strengthen their status as a priority exchange for institutional investors.
Leverage these trends to further shape. Binance’s 20x, Bybit’s 100x, and Gate.io’s 100x leverage options increase trading volume by allowing positions to exceed capital base, but rapid closures result in open profit growth I will limit it. Coinbase achieves comparable speeds through trade frequency, rather than nano contracts that allow for retail-driven churn, rather than high leverage.
CME’s regulated environment imposes stricter leverage restrictions, prioritizes location stability over speculative excess, and maintains its high open interest. Liquidity matches these patterns: Binance and Coinbase use robust volumes to ensure tight spreads and efficient execution, while CME liquidity is in a deep, sustained position From the origin, the low volume of Gate.io indicates an active market.
Bitcoin futures oi and volume disparities indicate that a clear exchange trading profile first appeared in Cryptoslate.
