TL;DR:
- Open interest peak: The total value of active Bitcoin futures contracts reached $29 billion on May 5.
- Binance dominance: The platform led the derivatives market activity with an open interest of $9.03 billion.
- Long positions rising: The increase in market exposure coincided with a price movement toward $83,000.
The $29 billion bets on Bitcoin are back in the financial derivatives market. The open interest of the pioneer crypto returned to these levels on May 5, 2026, representing its highest point recorded since January 29.
Market data indicates that during the session, traders massively added long positions.
Bitcoin open interest climbed to $29 billion on May 5, the highest since January 29, as traders aggressively added long positions amid the move toward $83,000.
Binance alone accounted for about $9.03 billion in Bitcoin open interest, roughly 73% more than the second-largest… pic.twitter.com/qf4nz86rDQ
— Ali Charts (@alicharts) May 20, 2026
The volume of futures contracts that remain unsettled serves to track participation within the ecosystem. According to the technical report, a higher concentration in these indicators usually translates into increased volatility if positions accumulate excessively.
Binance concentrated a substantial part of this global activity. The platform recorded an open interest of $9.03 billion in Bitcoin contracts.
This figure exceeded the stock records of the industry’s second-largest exchange by 73%. Sector analysts point out that this differential demonstrates a marked preference among institutional and retail traders to concentrate their liquidity within a single issuer during high-volatility phases.
Resistance levels and technical analysis in the spot market
In the analyzed daily chart of the spot market, Bitcoin’s price hovered around $77,271, representing an advance of 0.67% during the session. The price remained below the main Fibonacci retracement zone.
For the technical analysis of the current structure, a floor of $70,642 and a ceiling set at $121,782 were used as reference points.
The first critical resistance point for the asset is located near the $81,586 zone. According to the charts, this level corresponds exactly to the 0.786 Fibonacci retracement. In line with the technical projections of the analysis platform, a daily close above this band could improve the short-term chart structure, potentially opening the door to targets between $90,177 and $96,212.
Conversely, the immediate market support is firmly located between $75,000 and $76,000. Analysts warn that a close below this range could weaken the recovery started in recent weeks. The next major structural support remains at the $70,642 mark.
By the close of the session, momentum indicators revealed mixed readings. The MACD indicator showed early signs of recovery, maintaining its line at 266 against a signal line of 944. The histogram remained in negative territory with a reading of minus 678.
Likewise, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) positioned itself at 46.55 points. By sitting below the 50 threshold, data suggests that market momentum did not turn fully bullish. Traders are now focusing their attention on price behavior ahead of the expiration of the upcoming monthly futures contracts.
