Another distinguishing feature of this bear market is about leverage. Recent volatility has coincided with a sharp decline in BTC futures open interest (OI) when measured in USD notional terms, which can be interpreted as deleveraging at first glance. OI measured in BTC terms provides a clearer read on contract exposure because it removes the impact of price declines on USD notionals. On this basis, the contraction appears more limited, and BTC-term OI remains elevated relative to earlier cycles. Compared with 2022, where BTC-term OI fell materially during the crash and reflected broad position unwinds, February 2026 shows a smaller reduction in BTC-term OI, consistent with a drawdown driven partly by price effects rather than a full reset of outstanding exposure.(BloFin Research)