In the last 24 hours, open interest for bitcoin options on the Deribit crypto options and futures exchange reached an all-time high, surpassing $15 billion.

"Total open interest in bitcoin options surpassed that of BTC -1.71% futures for the first time. This shift signifies the market's maturation and growing sophistication," noted Deribit Chief Commercial Officer Luuk Strijers.

He added that on Deribit, which holds an 85% market share in bitcoin options, "there is currently a record-breaking $15 billion in notional open interest in BTC options."

The data from Deribit corresponds with that from The Block's data dashboard. The total bitcoin options open interest across cryptocurrency exchanges has reached an all-time high of $16.49 billion, it shows.

Increase in crypto derivatives trading

Strijers added that the increase in open interest to a new all-time high is evidence of the cryptocurrency market's evolving complexity. "This development underscores the increasing preference for options as a strategic tool among traders, whether for positioning, hedging, or leveraging the recent surge in implied volatility. It's clear evidence of the market's evolving complexity," he said.

An increase in open interest signals a highly liquid market with many participants. Open interest refers to the total number of outstanding options contracts that have not been exercised. When there is an increase in open interest, it suggests an increase in sophisticated trader activity, with new contracts being created and added to the existing ones.

While higher open interest can suggest greater interest in a specific asset and increased market activity, it doesn't provide information about the direction of the market or whether the prevailing sentiment is bullish or bearish.