CME overtakes Binance in Bitcoin futures open interest

CME Bitcoin futures open interest reached 158,300 BTC ($16.5 billion) by June 1, which surpassed Binance’s 118,700 BTC ($12.3 billion). This development follows massive ETF inflows and institutional demand. ETF assets under management exceeded $140 billion, which created demand for hedging instruments. The US government established a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve via executive order on March 6, 2025.

Institutional capital favors regulated venues.

CME’s open interest for the top four cryptocurrencies reached $28.3 billion, while Binance held $23 billion and Bybit held $12.2 billion. A recent market crash wiped $74 billion in leveraged positions across the industry. Total liquidations reached $19.2 billion. CME futures stayed unaffected because they trade on a different schedule. During February, liquidations totaled $2.23 billion in a single 24-hour period. Ethereum and Solana both fell over 60% from their early-year peaks. The ETH/BTC ratio collapsed from 0.036 to 0.017. Market structure consolidated around exchanges including OKX, Bybit, Bitget, and Gate. Bitcoin dominance reached 65% by the end of Q2. Binance reached nearly $200 billion in volume on peak days. Funding rates stayed above 0.01% most of the time, though negative episodes occurred in February, April, and June. Large Bitcoin holders increased accumulation, with wallets holding at least 1,000 BTC reaching their highest levels since March.

Macro shifts drive $62,000 price levels

Bitcoin price slipped to $62,000 in June after the Federal Reserve signaled a tighter policy path. The Fed held its benchmark rate steady at 3.50% to 3.75% and reduced expectations for rate cuts. This macro pressure drove the price down from a June 17 high of $66,315 to a low near $62,000, which represented a 4% decline. In July, the price hit $62,000 again when the Fed slashed interest rates by 50 basis points.

The Federal Reserve decision to slash interest rates by 50 basis points in July provided a tailwind that pushed Bitcoin price levels back toward the $62,000 range after earlier macroeconomic weakness.

Macro pressure persists.

You should watch the $60,000 level. The US-Iran interim agreement reopened the Strait of Hormuz and allowed Iranian oil exports to resume, which brought oil prices toward $75 per barrel. Bitcoin failed to respond to this news. The price dropped. On June 25, roughly $1 billion in leveraged positions liquidated as Bitcoin fell to its lowest level of the year. Bitcoin price remains below resistance levels like the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement near $65,000. The Coinbase Premium Index remains negative, which suggests weaker buying activity from U.S.-based participants. Liquidation interest sits near $65,000 to $67,000, while downside liquidity concentrates around $63,500 and $62,000. Bitcoin options open interest for the June 26 expiry carries $10.5 billion. The max pain level sits near $74,000.

Hyperliquid captures decentralized dominance

Hyperliquid captures 80% of the DeFi perpetual contracts market share. The platform’s annual trading volume reached $1.571 trillion, which is an 843% increase from the $26.3 billion recorded twelve months ago.

Hyperliquid leads DeFi.

The platform processes an average daily volume of over $3 billion, with peaks exceeding $17 billion. Revenue exceeded $56 million per month, which resulted in cumulative revenue above $310 million. The platform reinvests 97% of protocol fees into HYPE token buybacks, which totaled $910 million over six months. Total value locked reached $1.75 billion, which ranks eighth among all blockchains. The purpose-built Layer 1 uses a proprietary native-chain matching engine to support over 100,000 orders per second with sub-second finality. Hyperliquid captured 10.54% of Binance’s market share, which rose from 9.76% in April. It also captures 6.84% of global perpetual flows. As of July, the 30-day perpetual volume exceeded $180 billion. Nasdaq-listed Lion Group plans to hold $600 million in reserves with HYPE as its primary treasury asset. The HYPE token reached a peak of $44.86 and eyes a potential all-time high of $50. Does decentralized dominance threaten centralized exchanges?