OI Delta Heatmap

Visualize Open Interest changes as a heatmap to see where new money is entering and existing positions are closing.

What is OI Delta Heatmap?

OI Delta Heatmap displays changes in Open Interest across the market as a color-coded diverging heatmap, built from Hyperliquid full node data. Open Interest represents the total number of outstanding derivative contracts — when it increases, new money is entering the market (new positions being opened). When it decreases, positions are being closed and money is leaving.

The heatmap uses green to show where Open Interest is building (new positions entering) and red to show where it is declining (positions closing). The intensity of the color reflects the magnitude of the change. Data is captured at 5-minute resolution, giving you precise timing on when position changes occur.

Tracking OI Delta is crucial for understanding the conviction behind price moves. A price rally accompanied by rising OI means new buyers are entering with fresh capital — the move has fuel. A rally with declining OI suggests existing shorts are covering rather than new longs entering — a weaker foundation that may not sustain.

Key Concepts

• Open Interest (OI): The total value of outstanding derivative contracts (futures and perpetual swaps) that have not been settled
• OI Delta: The change in Open Interest over a given period — positive means new positions opening, negative means positions closing
• Rising OI + Rising Price: New long positions being opened — bullish conviction with fresh capital entering
• Falling OI + Rising Price: Short covering — bearish positions closing, which creates buying pressure but indicates weaker bullish conviction

How to Use OI Delta Heatmap

1. Open OI Delta Heatmap from the sidebar under Chart Tools
2. The heatmap displays all monitored coins with color coding based on OI changes
3. Green cells indicate Open Interest building; red cells indicate positions closing
4. Color intensity shows the magnitude of the change — brighter colors mean larger OI shifts
5. Cross-reference OI Delta with price direction to understand the nature of the current move

What to Look For

• Bullish signals: Bright green across multiple coins during a price rally indicates broad market participation with new capital entering. A coin showing persistent green OI Delta while consolidating suggests positions are building ahead of a potential breakout.
• Bearish signals: Bright red during a rally means the move is driven by short covering, not new buying — it may exhaust quickly. Bright green during a price decline means new short positions are being opened aggressively, adding selling pressure.
• Key patterns: OI spikes at market extremes often precede reversals — when too many positions build in one direction, a liquidation cascade in the opposite direction becomes more likely. Divergence between OI trend and price trend is one of the most reliable signals of an impending move.
• Combine with: CVD Chart for volume delta context alongside OI delta, Liquidation Heatmap to see where the newly opened positions would get liquidated, Volume Profile for price-level context on where the new positions are concentrated

Supported Exchanges

Tips

• The combination of OI direction and price direction tells you more than either one alone — always interpret OI Delta in the context of what price is doing
• Large OI increases at price extremes are a warning sign — heavily one-sided positioning creates the fuel for liquidation cascades in the opposite direction
• The 5-minute resolution lets you pinpoint exactly when significant position changes occurred, which can help you identify which event or level triggered the activity