Reading it with price
Tendencies, not rules:
- Price up, open interest up: new positions are opening into the move.
- Price up, open interest down: positions are closing, often shorts covering.
- Price down, open interest up: new positions are opening into the drop, often shorts.
- Price down, open interest down: longs are exiting or being liquidated.
What it can't tell you
Open interest says how much is at stake, not who holds which side or where they entered.
Glossary: open interest, perpetual futures (perps). See the data sources. Research tools and education, not financial advice.