Traders are taking bold bets on DOGE, driving its price up sharply, even as the rally in bitcoin stalls. The surge in open interest in DOGE futures to 15.36 billion tokens, the highest this year, underscores the growing appetite for risk. According to Coinglass, this rise in open interest signals that traders are increasingly seeking leveraged plays, reflecting a strong risk sentiment in the market.
DOGE's price has jumped nearly 10% over the past week, briefly exceeding 11 cents before settling near $0.105. The combination of rising spot prices and futures open interest suggests new capital is entering the market, reinforcing the bullish trend in DOGE. However, this also increases the market's vulnerability to sharp liquidations if momentum reverses.
Data shows that Binance, Bitget, Bybit, and OKX are among the top venues driving this trend, with sizable positions also seen on Hyperliquid, MEXC, WhiteBIT, and KuCoin. Market observers attribute DOGE's rally to several factors, including large holders adding over 500 million DOGE, the listing of a physically backed ETP, and positive Grayscale flows. On-chain activity has also increased, with active addresses rising 28%.
Historically, DOGE has traded more like a macro meme, with positioning accelerating quickly when spot accumulation, derivatives leverage, and retail narratives align. While the X payments angle remains a potential swing factor, traders are reacting to payments-related developments at Musk-owned companies, possibly hoping that DOGE could be integrated into X's financial stack, given Musk's past support for the token.