Open interest (OI) in major cryptocurrencies like XRP (XRP), Solana (SOL), and Dogecoin (DOGE) has collectively dropped by 51% over the past month, signaling a waning interest among market participants.

Market analyst TheCryptoMann highlighted this trend in an X post on April 30, noting that the decline in open interest reflects a growing disinterest among traders. Open interest is a crucial metric that measures the total value of all outstanding or unsettled crypto futures contracts across exchanges, providing insights into market sentiment and potential price movements.

Among the top nine cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, Dogecoin saw the most significant decrease in open interest, plummeting by 64% to $668.2 million since the beginning of April, according to CoinGlass data. Solana's open interest dropped by 47% to $1.51 billion, while XRP's open interest declined by 44% to $497.67 million over the same period.

Market instability, often accompanied by uncertainty about price directions, is a common factor contributing to declining open interest. Trader TheoTrader highlighted in an April 26 X post that open interest levels are nearing all-time lows, similar to those seen around the collapse of the now-defunct crypto exchange FTX in November 2022.

The aftermath of the April 20 Bitcoin halving, which has led to a decrease in miner revenue to new yearly lows, has also contributed to market uncertainty. This uncertainty has deterred traders from taking new positions, leading to a further decline in open interest.

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), the top two cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, have also experienced a drop in open interest alongside price declines. Bitcoin's open interest has decreased by 21% to $25.58 billion, while Ether's open interest dropped by 22% to $10.02 billion. Bitcoin's price fell by 14.87% to $60,149, and Ether's price declined by 16.67%, trading slightly above the $3,005 support level at the time of publication.

Over the past 30 days, capital has flowed from altcoins into Bitcoin, leading to an increase in Bitcoin dominance—BTC's relative share of the total crypto market cap—by 2.13%, reaching 54.77% according to TradingView data.