Bitcoin surged from about 68,000 dollars to nearly 74,000 dollars on March 4, reaching a new monthly high. The move occurred as two key datasets began showing bullish signals at almost the same time.
On chain metrics indicate a sharp increase in futures open interest delta on Binance during the breakout. At the same time, spot Bitcoin exchange traded funds in the United States have added around 23,600 BTC to their holdings since February 25, suggesting renewed institutional demand.
Derivatives Activity and ETF Accumulation Grow
Market analyst Amr Taha reported in an update on March 5 that Bitcoin futures open interest expanded significantly on March 4. Binance alone added roughly 430 million dollars in new positions. Other exchanges also recorded large increases, including Gate.io with about 189 million dollars and Bybit with around 166 million dollars.
This expansion occurred as Bitcoin climbed to 74,000 dollars. According to Taha, the overall increase in open interest across exchanges surpassed the previous peak recorded in January, marking the strongest expansion in derivatives activity in almost two months.
Taha explained that when open interest delta rises, especially when led by Binance, it often indicates that new positions are entering the market and that fresh liquidity is flowing into derivatives trading.
At the same time, spot Bitcoin exchange traded funds in the United States accumulated approximately 23,600 BTC between February 25 and March 5. The amount is worth around 1.5 billion dollars at current prices and contributes to the growing reserves held by ETFs, which many traders use as an indicator of institutional interest.
Historically, increasing ETF demand tends to support bullish market conditions because it introduces consistent buying pressure.
Order Flow Signals Strong Demand
Additional order flow data shared by analyst Maartunn on X suggests that large buyers are also entering the market. He noted that the premium on Coinbase widened to about 61 dollars, meaning Bitcoin was trading at a higher price on that platform compared with other exchanges. This premium often reflects strong demand from traders in the United States.
Price Recovery After Geopolitical Shock
The latest rally follows a rebound that began after Bitcoin briefly declined due to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. At the time of writing, the cryptocurrency is trading close to 72,500 dollars after gaining nearly six percent over the past 24 hours and a similar amount during the past week.
Even with the recent recovery, Bitcoin remains more than 42 percent below its all time high reached in October 2025 when the asset surpassed 126,000 dollars.
Technical traders are also watching the 71,700 dollar level closely. Maartunn explained that the market has regained this previous range high, which could help maintain the current upward structure if the price continues to hold above it.
Meanwhile, derivatives markets show an increase in leveraged trading. According to the analyst, Bitcoin derivatives markets added about 3.55 billion dollars in new leveraged positions, representing an increase of roughly 18 percent. Ethereum derivatives also recorded nearly 1.8 billion dollars in additional leverage.
Maartunn noted that these positions depend on continued demand in the spot market to remain stable. If buying pressure slows down, highly leveraged positions could unwind quickly and increase market volatility. For now, however, he said that institutional demand in the spot market appears to be supporting the ongoing price move.#cryptonews https://t.me/coinsignalpublic https://coinsignals.net
