Bitcoin has increased by 35% from its August low, reaching a trading range of $83,000 to $84,000 by late September. Data from Glassnode indicates that open interest in BTC-denominated derivatives has declined by nearly 20% over the last two months, hitting levels not observed since March.
The reduction in leverage followed a significant short liquidation event on August 19, where 85% of liquidations involved traders betting against Bitcoin. In the immediate aftermath, open interest fell by 11%, while the asset price rose by approximately 26% during the initial recovery phase.
Analysts attribute the current price momentum to spot market activity and inflows into US Bitcoin ETFs rather than derivatives speculation. Notably, these ETFs saw $2.23 billion in inflows during a seven-day period in August, marking the strongest performance of the month.
On-chain data highlights a supply cluster held by long-term investors between $84,000 and $86,000. Bitcoin has been testing the lower boundary of this range, reflecting a shift toward a more mature market structure driven by spot buyers.
