BackQuant Glossary
Open Interest (OI)
The total number of outstanding contracts (options or futures) that have not been closed. Rising OI on a rally signals new long positioning. Falling OI on a rally signals shorts covering. OI distribution across strikes drives gamma exposure shape.
Related terms
Futures
A standardized contract to buy or sell an asset at a set price on a future date. Crypto futures with fixed expiries exist alongside perpetual futures (perps) which never expire. Quarterly futures concentrate the most open interest.
Gamma
A second-order Greek measuring how much delta changes per one-dollar move in the underlying. Gamma is highest for at-the-money options near expiry. Long option positions are always long gamma; short options are short gamma. Gamma is the input to gamma exposure.
Long
A position that profits when price rises. Buying spot, going long a perp, owning a call, or being short a put are all long positions. Opposite of short.
Short
A position that profits when price falls. Selling spot, going short a perp, owning a put, or being short a call are all short positions. Short positions in crypto carry tail risk because upside is unbounded.
OKX
A major centralized derivatives exchange offering perpetuals, futures, and options. OKX is one of the primary aggregation sources for crypto options open interest alongside Deribit, Bybit, and Binance.
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