Earlier today, Bitcoin (BTC) briefly fell below $115,000 – hitting a low of $114,116 – triggering panic selling across major crypto exchanges, including Binance. Sharp shifts in several key metrics, such as open interest and net taker volume, confirm the intensity of the sell-off.
According to a Quicktake post on CryptoQuant by contributor Amr Taha, BTC’s drop below $115,000 led to a sharp decline in open interest on Binance, which fell from $14 billion to under $13.5 billion.
To explain, such large-scale liquidation events typically occur when leveraged traders face forced position closures – long or short – due to margin calls. The sharp BTC drop resulted in the liquidation of approximately 183,514 traders in just 24 hours.
In addition to falling open interest and widespread long liquidations, Binance’s net taker volume also points to rising bearish sentiment. The metric plunged to -$160 million, underscoring aggressive selling pressure.
For context, Binance net taker volume measures the difference between market buy and sell orders initiated by takers. A positive value suggests dominant buying activity (bullish), while a negative value reflects dominant selling activity (bearish).
Binance net taker volume dropping into negative territory further reinforces bearish pressure on BTC. Since this net selling coincided with the decline in open interest, it indicates that many derivatives traders are panic-closing late long positions.
Despite the falling price, shrinking open interest, and negative net taker volume, Taha suggests that these bearish indicators could paradoxically set the stage for a short-term rebound.
Bitcoin’s selling pressure may be nearing exhaustion, while short interest continues to rise. This combination could trigger a market rebalancing phase, potentially paving the way for price stabilization – or even a short squeeze-driven bounce.
