Binance's Crypto Derivatives Platform Sees Record Open Interest of $10B

Binance's crypto derivatives platform Binance Futures continues to soar in popularity as more and retail customers add fuel to the bull run.

Open interest on the derivatives platform hit a record high of over $10 billion on Saturday, amounting to year-on-year growth of nearly 3,900%, according to data source CoinGecko.

The spike in open interest or the value of derivative contracts traded but not settled with offsetting positions reflects an increased inflow of money into the market.

Some analysts consider Binance synonymous with retail traders. In their newsletter dated Feb. 26, blockchain analytics firm Glassnode's founders Jan Happel and Jann Allemann cited increased signups at Binance relative to the U.S.-regulated Coinbase exchange as evidence of increased retail participation.

Binance Futures was launched in September 2019 with a single tether (USDT)-margined perpetual futures for bitcoin.

Since then, the derivatives platform has expanded its product suite to over 180 pairs – 107 USDT- or Binance USD (BUSD)-margined futures contracts, 34 coin-margined futures, 36 Binance leveraged tokens and six options, the exchange's representative told CoinDesk in a Telegram chat.

Binance is the largest bitcoin futures exchange by open interest at press time, contributing $4.33 billion, or 18.44%, of the global tally of $23.48, as per data provided by the crypto derivatives research firm Skew.

Also read: Retail Gains Amid Institutional Influx in Q1: CoinDesk Quarterly Review