Bullish bitcoin (BTC) bets build as open interest jumps by $2.3 billion

Bitcoin derivatives activity is picking up ahead of Friday’s U.S. jobs report, with traders adding positions as the price climbs above $86,000.

Open interest has risen to approximately 653,000 BTC ($56.2 billion) from 626,000 BTC on Sept. 30, according to CoinGlass data, an increase of 27,000 BTC ($2.3 billion), or roughly 4.3%. Open interest measures the total value of outstanding futures and perpetual contracts that have yet to be closed or settled. Rising open interest indicates that traders are adding exposure, although it does not reveal whether they are betting on prices rising or falling.

Bitcoin has climbed from around $83,500 to $86,500 over the same period. A price increase coinciding with rising open interest suggests new positions are helping support the rally.

Meanwhile, the perpetual funding rate has risen from around 3% to 10% in the same time frame. Funding is a periodic payment exchanged between traders holding long and short positions, designed to keep perpetual futures prices close to the spot price. When funding is positive, traders betting on higher prices pay those betting on lower prices.