BTC futures open interest fell from $42 billion to $21 billion, as the market underwent deep deleveraging

Gate News message: On April 8, according to independent analyst Markus Thielen, Bitcoin futures open interest has fallen sharply from the $42.0 billion high in October 2025 to the current $21.0 billion, and the market is experiencing deep deleveraging. At present, leverage levels on the exchange are relatively low, and the funding rate has recently been fluctuating between -12.6% and +7.1%, with long and short forces switching rapidly. In terms of liquidation, the most recent concentrated forced liquidation took place on February 6; the prior leverage has essentially been cleared, and the position structure is relatively healthy. In the short term, Bitcoin has not yet formed a clear directional trend.