Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin futures open interest jumps by $1B: Manipulation or hedge?

Bitcoin’s (BTC) open interest on derivatives exchanges experienced a sudden surge of $1 billion on Sep. 18, prompting investors to question whether whales were accumulating in anticipation of the unsealing of Binance’s court filings.
However, a closer look at derivatives metrics suggests a more nuanced picture, as the funding rate did not exhibit clear signs of excessive buying demand.
The decision to unseal these documents was granted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which had accused Binance of non-cooperation despite previously agreeing to a consent order related to unregistered securities operations and other allegations.

The open interest spiked to $12.1 billion while Bitcoin’s price concurrently increased by 3.4%, the highest point in over two weeks at $27,430.
However, investors soon realized that, aside from a comment by the Binance.US auditor regarding the challenges of ensuring full collateralization, there was little concrete information revealed in the unsealed documents.
Later in the day, Federal Judge Zia Faruqui rejected the SEC’s request to inspect Binance.US’s technical infrastructure and share additional information. Nevertheless, the judge stipulated that Binance.US must furnish more details about its custody solution, casting doubt on whether Binance International ultimately controls these assets.
By the end of Sep. 18, Bitcoin’s open interest had receded to $11.3 billion as its price dropped by 2.4% to $26,770. This decline indicated that the entities behind the open interest surge were no longer inclined to maintain their positions.
These whales were likely disappointed with the court’s outcomes, or the price action may not have unfolded as expected. In any case, 80% of the open interest increase disappeared in less than 24 hours.
Futures’ buyers and sellers are matched at all times
It can be assumed that most of the demand for leverage was driven by bullish sentiment, as Bitcoin’s price climbed alongside the increase in open interest and subsequently plummeted as 80% of the contracts were closed. However, attributing cause and effect solely to Binance’s court rulings seems unwarranted for several reasons.
Firstly, no one anticipated that the unsealed documents would favor Binance or its CEO, Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, given that it was the SEC that had originally requested their release. Additionally, the Bitcoin futures contract funding rate, which gauges imbalances between long and short positions, remained largely stable throughout this period.

If there had indeed been an unforeseen demand surge of $1 billion in open interest, primarily driven by desperate buyers, it’s reasonable to assume that the funding rate would have spiked above 0.01%. However, quite the opposite unfolded on Sept. 19, as Bitcoin’s open interest expanded to $11.7 billion while the funding rate plunged to zero.
With Bitcoin’s price rallying above $27,200 during this second phase of open interest growth, it becomes increasingly evident that, regardless of the underlying motives, the price pressure tends to be upward. While the exact rationale may remain elusive, certain trading patterns could shed light on this movement.
Market makers’ hedge could explain OI spike
One plausible explanation could be the involvement of market makers executing buy orders on behalf of substantial clients. This would account for the initial enthusiasm in both the spot market and BTC futures, propelling the price higher. After the initial surge, the market maker becomes fully hedged, eliminating the need for further buying and leading to a price correction.
During the second phase of the trade, there is no impact on Bitcoi price, as the market maker must offload the BTC futures contracts and purchase spot Bitcoin. This results in a reduction in open interest and may disappoint some participants who were anticipating additional buying fervor.
Rather than hastily labeling every “Bart” formation as manipulation, it is advisable to delve into the operations of arbitrage desks and carefully analyze the BTC futures funding rate before jumping to conclusions. Thus, when there is no excessive demand for leveraged long positions, an increase in open interest does not necessarily signify a buying spree, as was the case on Sep. 18.
This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
Cryptocurrency
Ethereum Foundation, Whales, and Hackers: What’s Driving the ETH Sell-Off?

TL;DR
- Whales, hackers, and the Ethereum Foundation wallets moved over $500M in ETH through large sales and withdrawals.
- Ethereum transfers rose to 4.6M ETH, nearing the monthly high of 5.2M recorded in July.
- Staking inflows hit 247,900 ETH, the highest in a month, locking more supply from trading.
Large Withdrawals and Whale Activity
Ethereum (ETH) has seen heavy movement from major wallets over the past few days. On-chain data from Lookonchain shows a newly created wallet pulled 17,591 ETH, worth $81.62 million, from Kraken in just two hours.
Over three days, two new wallets withdrew a combined 71,025 ETH, valued at $330 million, from the exchange.
One of these wallets, address 0x2A92, has withdrawn 53,434 ETH, worth $242.34 million, in two days. This includes a recent purchase of 30,069 ETH, valued at $138.46 million, during a market drop.
Major ETH Holders Offload Millions Amid Price Rally
In contrast, several separate entities have been disposing of some ETH holdings. A wallet tied to a hacker address 0x17E0 sold 4,958 ETH for $22.13 million at $4,463, securing a profit of $9.75 million. Earlier this year, the same address sold 12,282 ETH at $1,932 and later bought back part of the amount at higher prices.
A different whale sold 20,600 ETH for $96.55 million over the past two days, generating a profit of more than $26 million after holding the position for nine months.
Meanwhile, an Ethereum Foundation-linked wallet, 0xF39d, sold 6,194 ETH worth $28.36 million in the last three days at an average price of $4,578.
Recent sales from the same wallet included an additional 1,100 ETH and 1,695 ETH for over $12.7 million combined.
The #EthereumFoundation-linked wallet(0xF39d) sold another 1,300 $ETH($5.87M) at $4,518 ~11 hours ago.
Over the past 3 days, this wallet has sold a total of 6,194 $ETH($28.36M) at an average price of $4,578.https://t.co/4hfCWymHVG pic.twitter.com/ErUyEY8SJy
— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) August 15, 2025
Network Activity on the Rise
CryptoQuant data shows Ethereum’s total tokens transferred have been climbing since August 9. After ranging between 1 million and 3 million ETH through late July and early August, transfers have risen to 4.6 million ETH, approaching the monthly high of 5.2 million recorded in mid-July. This increase has occurred alongside a price rally from about $3,400 to $4,600.
Interestingly, staking inflows generally stayed between 20,000 and 80,000 ETH per day over the past month. On August 14, inflows jumped to 247,900 ETH, the highest in the period.
At the time, ETH was trading near $4,600. Large staking deposits reduce the amount of ETH available for immediate trading, as staked coins are locked for a set period.
In the meantime, ETH trades at $4,647 with a 24-hour volume of $68.25 billion, down 2% on the day but up 19% over the week.
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Cryptocurrency
Massive DOGE Whale Activity Hints at $1 Breakout

TL;DR
- Whales bought two billion DOGE this week, lifting their combined holdings to 27.6 billion coins.
- A single 900M DOGE transfer worth $208M to Binance drew attention to large exchange movements.
- DOGE broke key resistance, with momentum building for a possible push toward the $1 price mark.
Price and Market Moves
Dogecoin (DOGE) traded at $0.23 at press time, slipping 4% over the past day but still showing a 2% gain for the week. Daily turnover came in at about $6.18 billion.
Meanwhile, the broader crypto market saw over $1 billion in liquidations. Hotter-than-expected US Producer Price Index data pushed traders to scale back expectations of a near-term Federal Reserve rate cut. DOGE had roughly 290,500 coins liquidated during the sell-off.
On the two-week chart, analyst Trader Tardigrade notes that DOGE has cleared a downward-sloping resistance line after completing what appears to be a “wave V” in an Elliott Wave sequence. Similar setups in the past, where prolonged declines stayed within falling channels before breaking higher, have been followed by sharp rallies.
$Doge/2-week#Dogecoin is gaining strong momentum to surge above $1 pic.twitter.com/TuSEKr19nv
— Trader Tardigrade (@TATrader_Alan) August 15, 2025
Momentum gauges are also turning up. The Stochastic RSI, which had dropped into oversold territory, is now heading higher. Previous reversals from this zone have coincided with sustained upward moves. The current formation points to a possible run that could carry DOGE past the $1 mark.
Heavy Whale Buying and Large Transfers
As reported by CryptoPotato, blockchain data shows large investors have added two billion DOGE in the past week, spending just under $500 million. That brings their holdings to about 27.6 billion coins, or 18% of the supply. The buying streak has prompted speculation within the community.
Recently, Whale Alert flagged a 900 million DOGE transfer worth about $208 million into Binance. The tracking indicates that it originated from a wallet connected to the exchange, likely as an internal activity. The address involved holds 2.88 billion DOGE, one of the largest balances on the network.
Ali Martinez also reports that transactions above $1 million reached a one-month high, with activity building since early August and peaking as DOGE traded at $0.25.
Whales are back! Dogecoin $DOGE activity at a 1-month high. pic.twitter.com/C83Pv68mCt
— Ali (@ali_charts) August 14, 2025
Sentiment Building
Analyst Gordon described the current setup as “a nice bit of consolidation” before a potential breakout, adding,
“This will be one of the first coins normies FLOCK to & the pump will be MASSIVE.”
With whale accumulation rising, high-value transfers increasing, and a bullish technical pattern in play, DOGE is positioned for a potential push toward $1 if momentum holds.
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Cryptocurrency
Ripple Price Analysis: XRP at Risk as Key Support Levels Could Trigger Sharp Drop

XRP has recently entered a consolidation phase after a strong rally earlier this summer, with the price action now hovering around key resistance levels on both its USDT and BTC pairs. Yet, while momentum has slowed, the charts still indicate a generally bullish structure, with multiple key support levels remaining firmly in place.
Technical Analysis
By ShayanMarkets
The USDT Pair
On the XRP/USDT daily chart, the price is currently trading near the $3.10 mark, facing a strong resistance zone around $3.40. This follows a breakout above the $2.70 range in July, which has now flipped into a support area.
Both the 100-day and 200-day moving averages are also trending upward and recently formed a bullish crossover around $2.45, reinforcing the medium-term bullish sentiment. If the $3.40 resistance breaks, a push toward the critical $4.00 range becomes likely.
However, the RSI hovering near the neutral 50 level suggests a lack of strong momentum for now, meaning a short-term pullback into the $2.80 support zone is still possible.
This zone will be key for maintaining the bullish structure. Losing it could open the door for a deeper correction toward the 200-day moving average located around the $2.40 mark. Yet, as long as the price stays above the moving averages, the broader trend remains bullish.
The BTC Pair
Looking at the XRP/BTC chart, the pair has recently pulled back after hitting the 3,000 SAT resistance, with the price currently around 2,600 SAT.
This follows a clean breakout above the long-term descending channel and a successful retest of its upper boundary, which coincided with the 200-day moving average and the 2,400 SAT support zone. This confluence remains a key bullish technical factor, as holding above it could attract renewed buying pressure.
That said, RSI levels around 48 show that momentum has cooled after the sharp July rally, meaning XRP may continue ranging between 2,400 SAT and 3,000 SAT in the near term. A decisive close above 3,000 SAT would likely open the path to the 3,400 SAT zone, while losing 2,400 SAT could shift the bias back toward 2,000 SAT support. For now, the structure still favors the bulls as long as higher lows remain intact.
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Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoPotato is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoPotato on whether to buy, sell, or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk. See Disclaimer for more information.
Cryptocurrency charts by TradingView.
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