What are crypto derivatives?
Crypto derivatives are contracts whose value is based on the price of an underlying cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. They let traders speculate on price moves or hedge a position without holding the coin itself.
The most traded type is the perpetual futures contract, or "perp".
What are perpetual futures (perps)?
Perpetual futures are futures contracts with no expiry date. A position stays open as long as the trader keeps enough margin. A funding rate mechanism keeps the perp price close to the spot price of the underlying coin.
What is open interest (OI) in crypto?
Open interest (OI) is the total value of perpetual contracts that are still open. Rising open interest means new money is entering positions. Falling open interest means positions are being closed or liquidated. This page shows each coin's open interest in USD, summed across the derivative markets tracked on CoinGecko, and ranks coins by it by default.
What do OI 1h% and OI 24h% mean?
They show how much a coin's open interest has changed over the past hour and the past 24 hours, as a percentage. A sharp jump in open interest alongside a price move can mean traders are adding leverage in that direction.
What is a funding rate?
The funding rate is a periodic payment between long and short traders on a perpetual contract. When it is positive, longs pay shorts, which usually means the perp trades above spot. When it is negative, shorts pay longs. The funding rate on this page is a weighted average across a coin's perpetual markets, expressed as an 8-hour rate.
What do OI/Market Cap and Derivative Vol/Spot Vol show?
OI/Market Cap compares a coin's open interest with its market capitalization. A higher ratio means more leveraged positioning relative to the size of the asset. Derivative Vol/Spot Vol compares 24-hour derivatives trading volume with 24-hour spot volume. A ratio above 1× means more of the coin's trading happens in derivatives than on spot markets.
Where can I compare derivative exchanges?
This page ranks coins. To compare the exchanges that list these contracts, see Derivative Exchanges for centralized venues and Perp DEXs for decentralized ones.