Bitcoin’s derivatives market has shed much of its recent leverage, but the traders who remain are still paying elevated costs to hold long positions, according to CoinMarketCap Research’s Daily Market Pulse dated 2 November 2026.
The report, based on a snapshot at 05:20 UTC that morning, described Bitcoin’s leverage reset as complete. It placed the cryptocurrency at $78,164 and its Fear & Greed Index at 37, in the fear range. These readings refer to the report’s publication time.
Lower open interest, higher funding costs
CoinMarketCap reported aggregate crypto open interest at a new 12-month low of approximately $284.1 billion on 1 November. It recorded $22.1 million of Bitcoin liquidations for the completed day, around 0.22 times its 30-day average, with shorts accounting for 72% of the total.
At the same time, Bitcoin perpetual funding averaged around 0.93 basis points a day over the preceding week. The research put that reading at the highest percentile of its 90-day comparison window and 38% above the previous week. CoinMarketCap’s interpretation was that a reduction in leverage had not removed the cost of maintaining the remaining bullish positioning.
ETF selling offsets earlier inflows
The report recorded $643.2 million of net outflows from US spot Bitcoin ETFs on 30 October. That exceeded the combined $440.8 million of inflows in the preceding four sessions, leaving the five-session period with a net outflow of $202.4 million.
Its flow measures also showed a divergence between Bitcoin futures and spot markets. Over seven sessions, futures cumulative volume delta stood at approximately minus $2.71 billion, while spot cumulative volume delta was positive at $219 million. The research interpreted falling open interest alongside the price decline as deleveraging rather than an unambiguous wave of new bearish positions.
Stablecoin supply and decentralised activity soften
CoinMarketCap also highlighted a contraction in the capital available for on-chain activity. Ethereum stablecoin supply stood at approximately $141 billion, down 3.2% over 30 days, with USDT accounting for 49.8% of that pool and USDC 31.3%.
Decentralised exchange volume on Ethereum, Solana and Arbitrum was below each network’s 30-day baseline. The report put the shortfalls at 49%, 70% and 54%, respectively. It characterised an earlier burst of activity around the exchange disruption as assets being moved, rather than evidence of sustained new buying demand.
The combined picture in CoinMarketCap’s research was a market with less outstanding leverage but continued sensitivity to funding costs, ETF flows and liquidity. Its calendar of upcoming catalysts included the US midterm elections on 3 November and the October employment report scheduled for 6 November.
