Despite recent Bitcoin price drops, demand for futures contracts is surging, indicating ongoing trader activity despite market uncertainty. While the cryptocurrency touched a six-week low of $109,400 on Monday, traders are actively engaging with futures markets, prompting questions about whether the next target is $120,000. Bitcoin futures open interest hit an all-time high on Monday at 762,700 contracts, a 13% increase over two weeks. This robust demand, despite a 10% price decline since August’s all-time high, highlights the active engagement of traders in leveraged positions. However, this surge needs to be considered within the context of Bitcoin’s current volatility. While open interest is currently at $85 billion, it doesn’t necessarily indicate bullish sentiment due to a constant balance between longs (buyers) and shorts (sellers). A significant price drop could trigger cascading liquidations if bulls rely heavily on leverage. 7-day Bitcoin futures funding rate has also dropped back to 11%, after a brief uptick, suggesting some muted optimism. The recent price weakness, however, triggered $284 million in liquidation of long positions, highlighting the market’s deep liquidity even during weekends, but raising suspicions as the selling was executed swiftly. Bitcoin options markets offer further insight into investor sentiment. While put (sell) options are trading at a 10% premium over call (buy) instruments, this reflects consistent bearishness. Although extreme fear is evident following the recent price drop, it’s not unusual after such sharp market movements. Market speculation could be influenced by whales shifting investment from Bitcoin to Ether, which tend to stabilize over time. A major catalyst for renewed investor interest could come from the upcoming $13.8 billion monthly options expiry on Friday. Will this trigger a re-entry into the market? This article offers insights and analysis based on available data but should not be interpreted as financial or legal advice. The views and opinions expressed are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.