Altcoin futures open interest overtakes Bitcoin's for the first time since 2024

Open interest in altcoin perpetual futures has overtaken Bitcoin's for the first time since December 2024, ArzDigital reported Monday, September 7, 2026 (16 Shahrivar 1405), signaling that a larger share of open derivatives positions is now concentrated in altcoins. Two English language crypto outlets, Pluang and Crypto.news, independently reported the same development the same day. According to ArzDigital, the combined market value of altcoins outside the top ten cryptocurrencies has risen more than 10 percent since the start of September to above 200 billion dollars; Zcash (ZEC) has been the standout, up 134 percent over the past 30 days to around 1,200 dollars, with its open interest hitting a fresh record of 2.4 billion dollars, a rally that saw about 34 million dollars of ZEC short positions liquidated on September 4 alone. ArzDigital cautioned that rising leverage in altcoins, which have thinner liquidity than Bitcoin, could trigger heavy liquidation waves if the market suddenly reverses, as happened in December 2024. Bitcoin was trading around 79,500 dollars at the time of the report.