The intuition
Every contract traded adds to volume — even if it just passes a position from one trader to another. Open interest only moves when a position is opened or closed. So a market can have huge volume with flat open interest (traders churning the same positions) or modest volume with rising open interest (fresh money committing). The pair tells you whether a move is backed by new conviction or just noise.
Reading them together
The four combinations, and what each says about a move:
- Price up + open interest up → new longs; the move has conviction behind it.
- Price up + open interest down → short covering; a squeeze, not fresh demand — often fades.
- Price down + open interest up → new shorts pressing; conviction on the sell side.
- Price down + open interest down → longs capitulating; an unwind, often late in a move.
oiDeltaPct >= 1 && quoteVolume >= highest(quoteVolume, 20) vyx tracks open interest and its change (oi, oiDelta, oiDeltaPct) alongside quoteVolume on the same board. The example flags fresh positioning on heavy volume — conviction — across 300+ Hyperliquid markets, so you separate committed moves from churn at a glance.
Further reading
Related
FAQ
What is the difference between open interest and volume?
Volume is how many contracts traded in a period; open interest is how many positions are currently open. Volume measures activity, open interest measures commitment — two candles can share identical volume but opposite open-interest change.
Which matters more, open interest or volume?
Neither alone — they’re strongest together. Volume tells you a move is active; rising open interest tells you it’s backed by fresh positioning rather than churn. A move on high volume but falling open interest is often just a squeeze.
What does rising price with falling open interest mean?
Short covering — shorts buying back to close, not new longs opening. The move can be sharp but is not fresh demand, so it often fades once the covering is done.
See it on the live map
Scan order-book pressure across 300+ Hyperliquid markets in real time.
Open vyx