On March 16, the total open interest (OI) for Bitcoin and Ethereum perpetual futures reached approximately $30 billion, the highest since late January. Binance recorded the largest daily increase among all centralized exchanges, with OI for BTC rising by $829 million and for ETH by $1.6 billion, according to analysts at CryptoQuant.

Open interest surged to ~$30B as prices rallied.

Binance led inflows, with BTC +$829M and ETH +$1.6B, while activity concentrated on top exchanges.

Leverage is flowing into major venues, not broad market participation. pic.twitter.com/uTolRnxtVU

— CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) March 26, 2026

The rise in open interest coincided with a rally in the third week of March. Investment activity in the perpetual futures market reached its highest level since January 31.

Source: CryptoQuant.

Traders opened long positions as prices increased. During this period, ETH broke through the $2300 mark, further boosting activity in derivatives.

For Bitcoin, the daily OI increase on Binance was $829 million. Bybit saw an increase of $377 million, while Gate added $255 million. Together, these two competitors gained $632 million.

The gap for Ethereum is even more pronounced: Binance added $1.6 billion compared to Bybit's $855 million and Gate's $629 million.

Source: CryptoQuant.

"Heatmap data shows that the primary growth in open interest is concentrated on Binance, followed by Gate and Bybit. This highlights that large and liquid platforms disproportionately attract capital during periods of significant price movement," the report states.

As prices rise, traders and investors focus their activity on major exchanges, where Binance and other top platforms serve as hubs for capital placement and leverage accumulation in the perpetual futures market, analysts conclude.

It’s worth noting that JPMorgan recognized Bitcoin as the primary safe-haven asset amid the war in Iran. Following the onset of the conflict, crypto activity in the country surged, with locals moving funds from local exchanges to non-custodial wallets and international platforms.