Open Interest vs. Volume
Volume measures activity over a period. Open interest measures outstanding derivatives positions. Reading them together gives more context than either number alone.
Key idea
Volume tells you how busy the market was. Open interest tells you how much position exposure is still outstanding.
In this guide
- 01Volume measures turnover
- 02Open interest measures outstanding positions
- 03Use the combination as context
Related workflow
Perpetuals →Volume measures turnover
High volume means contracts changed hands frequently during the measured period. It does not tell you whether total open exposure increased.
Open interest measures outstanding positions
Open interest rises when new exposure is created faster than positions are closed and falls when existing positions are removed.
Use the combination as context
Price, volume, open interest and funding can describe different parts of the same market. None of them is a reliable forecast by itself.
Put it in context
Tools connected to this topic
Use the concepts above to understand what these tools show or ask you to approve.
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