BTC just rallied ~22% and the leverage came off. Open interest, measured in coins, is at a one-month low. 📈 Price went from ~$63.5K on average across Aug 12 to 18 to ~$77.7K on Aug 23. 📉 Coin-denominated open interest went the other way, from ~353,500 BTC over that pre-rally stretch to ~312,600 on Aug 23, down about 11%, the lowest in at least a month. 📊 The denominator hides it. In dollars, open interest rose about 8% over the same period, because price climbed faster than contracts came off. Only in coin terms does the deleveraging appear. 🧭 That cuts against the “leverage-driven blow-off” read. Positions were liquidated into the move, and the rally extended on fewer of them, not more. The price found new highs. The leverage did not follow. 🛠️ Explore BTC Open Interest in Sanbase: https://app.santiment.net/charts/btc-coin-oi-32044?utm_source=x&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=btcoi_082026&aff=33 (researched with Santiment MCP + Claude)