Bitcoin futures markets have undergone a major structural shift, with crypto-margined Bitcoin open interest now accounting for only about 12% of total open interest across exchanges.

That is a dramatic change from 2019 and 2020, when Bitcoin-margined contracts represented close to the entire market. The shift highlights how leveraged crypto trading has increasingly moved toward stablecoin based collateral, even as traders continue to place significant leveraged bets on Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Crypto-Margined Open Interest Falls to 12%

Crypto-margined futures are backed by Bitcoin itself. This creates an important risk when prices move against a leveraged position because the value of the collateral can decline at the same time.

Stablecoin-margined…