Comparing Bitcoin’s spot and derivatives markets in Q1 2023 Quick Take
- As Q1 has ended with a remarkable Bitcoin performance of over 70%, it is worth analyzing the spot vs. derivatives trend over Q1.
- The network is much healthier at the end of the quarter than when we started back in January.
- The exchange balance is now flat year-to-date, with roughly 2.28 million Bitcoin on exchanges, and demand started to return after the SVB collapse.
- Futures’ open interest is now at a one-year low, with roughly 300,000 Bitcoin liquidated from the 2022 peak in October.
- Last, options open interest saw a record-breaking amount of $4 billion worth of options expiring on March 31. Roughly 130,000 Bitcoin have been unwound in contracts from the exchange Deribit.
- The rally in Bitcoin price has been driven by spot demand in recent weeks.
Analyst 
James Van Straten
James fervently appreciates data, technology, and trend-spotting. As a tech and liberty maximalist, he hails Bitcoin as the 21st century's paramount invention.
In this insight
Bitcoin, a decentralized currency that defies the sway of central banks or administrators, transacts electronically, circumventing intermediaries via a peer-to-peer network.
Glassnode
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