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DATA · OPTIONS OPEN INTEREST TIMING

Crypto Options Open Interest: Event Time vs Retrieval Time

Options OI changes as contracts open and close. A snapshot's timestamp, and expiries that settled between snapshots, determine what an OI change means.

By ChartsPod Editorial Team · Reviewed by ChartsPod Research
Published · Updated · 5 min read

Short answer

Deribit returns open_interest per instrument with the summary's creation_timestamp. Comparing two OI snapshots needs both timestamps and awareness of expiries in between: if an expiry settled, its OI vanished without anyone closing positions. Record retrieval time, settlement times, and compute OI changes per expiry rather than in total.

Which times the data carries

TimePresent?Meaning
creation_timestampYesSnapshot time
Expiry settlementInstrument dataOI disappears
Retrieval timeNoRecord it
UnitsCoins (options)Consistent

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What to record yourself

Field to storeWhy
snapshot timeComparison endpoints
expiryPer-expiry change
settled between?Flag
unitCoins
received_atDelay
Options Open Interest: a stored recordOptions Open Interest: a stored record: snapshot time — Comparison endpoints; expiry — Per-expiry change; settled between? — Flag; unit — Coins; received_at — Delay.snapshot timeComparison endpointsexpiryPer-expiry changesettled between?FlagunitCoinsreceived_atDelay
Every options open interest row carries its own clock. Original ChartsPod editorial graphic.

Example

Options Open Interest: event vs retrieval (illustrative)Options Open Interest: event vs retrieval (illustrative): THU 07:00: Snapshot: 210k BTC; FRI 08:00: Weekly expiry settles; FRI 09:00: Snapshot: 182k BTC; READ: Mostly expiry, not closures.THU 07:00Snapshot: 210k BTCFRI 08:00Weekly expiry settlesFRI 09:00Snapshot: 182k BTCREADMostly expiry, not closures
Two clocks, one record. Original ChartsPod editorial graphic.

Illustrative: total options OI fell 13% overnight; per-expiry comparison showed nearly all of it was the weekly that settled.

Related: Crypto Options Open Interest: Null vs Zero - Handle Missing Fields Correctly, Crypto Options Trade Data: Event Time vs Retrieval Time.

Record retrieval time, settlement times, and compute OI changes per expiry rather than in total.

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Questions readers ask

Why did options OI drop overnight?

An expiry may have settled.

How should I compare snapshots?

Per expiry, with timestamps.

What unit?

Coins for Deribit options.

Sources and methodology

Field definitions come from DEX Screener's API reference and CoinGecko's onchain API documentation, read 17 October 2026. Where a schema doesn't document a timestamp, this guide says so and recommends recording retrieval time yourself.

  1. Deribit API: get_book_summary_by_currency — creation_timestamp (ms) per summary.
  2. Deribit Insights: Maximum pain — max pain from OI at one expiry.

This article explains research tools and workflows. It is not financial advice, does not recommend buying or selling any asset and does not predict prices. Crypto derivatives carry a risk of rapid and total loss of margin.

CHARTSPOD EDITORIAL EDITION · RESEARCH AND EDUCATION ONLY · NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE.