BTC Dated Futures Volume Crashes 97% From 2021 Peak

Offshore dated Bitcoin futures volume on the venues tracked by Glassnode has fallen roughly 97% from its 2021 peak, even as the broader derivatives market has expanded. The contraction reflects a structural split rather than a wholesale flight from risk: perps absorbed the directional leverage while options absorbed the more complicated risk around holding Bitcoin. In January 2026, BTC options open interest hit about $74.1 billion against roughly $65.22 billion in futures, the first time the options book carried the larger position inventory.

Why it matters

The 97% drop sounds like a verdict on demand for Bitcoin derivatives, but the same data set shows perps and options growing around it. Glassnode found options gained share of crypto-native Bitcoin derivatives open interest in four of the five market regimes it has tracked since 2019, expanding from roughly a quarter of the book to nearly half.

The shift tracks a change in who owns Bitcoin. Spot ETFs, corporate treasuries, and structured-product desks now hold large pools that holders do not intend to sell, which creates demand for instruments that reshape the risk around an existing position rather than the direction of one. Puts let a fund hedge a drawdown without liquidating, covered calls let a holder monetize a long, and volatility trades let desks isolate the size of a move without picking a side. Stablecoin margin also separates collateral from Bitcoin's price moves, removing the feedback loop that made coin-backed leverage fragile during selloffs.

Market impact

The migration shows up in single-day snapshots. A Sept. 18 read of Binance had about 108,289 BTC of open interest on BTCUSDT perps and another 19,465 BTC on BTCUSDC perps, roughly $9.93 billion of positions at mark, while the exchange's two major stablecoin-margined quarterly contracts held only about $77 million combined, a roughly 129x gap. The dated contracts still exist, but the liquidity sits with the product that never expires.

Options liquidity is also less concentrated than it once was. Bybit's share of tracked Bitcoin options volume climbed from below 10% to 28%, with its options book expanding from $529 million in its first month to $2.33 billion. Ethereum accounted for roughly a third of Bybit's options turnover over the prior 90 days.

The offshore story has an important boundary. Glassnode's options comparison covers crypto-native venues while its futures study excludes CME, which still serves regulated institutions, basis traders, and ETF hedgers with standardized contracts and established clearing.