Recently, altcoins have been experiencing frequent fluctuations, and more and more people are starting to analyze the logic of price and volume. To be honest, one of the most core concepts here is open interest, also known as OI.

But there's a common pitfall that many people have fallen into—OI is actually divided into two completely different dimensions:

**First is the position quantity**
**Second is the position value**

These two data points are often confused by beginners, but in reality, they are two independent indicators. Although they influence each other, their logic is entirely different.

Let's first clarify what open interest means. Contract open interest most directly reflects market enthusiasm—how many people are trading this asset. But there's a detail here: the composition of open interest isn't simply "long positions + short positions," but rather only unidirectional positions are counted. In other words, the number of long positions equals the number of short positions, and together they constitute the total open interest of the contract.

For example: I open a long position, and you open a short position; then the OI is 1. We are counterparties. Every long position in the market is necessarily backed by a short position. This is also why contracts are often called zero-sum games—if someone makes money, someone else must lose money. This is a mathematical inevitability.

Furthermore, there are patterns in when open interest increases, decreases, or remains steady.

When open interest continues to rise, it indicates strong market enthusiasm—liquidity in the order book is sufficient, and new traders are continuously entering the market to open positions. This is often a sign of bullish market sentiment.

Next, let's look at how price and open interest interact in different combinations, each representing different market states:

**Price rising + open interest rising** = Bullish traders are building positions strongly, market sentiment is bullish and accumulating

Behind these patterns are the true intentions of market participants. Understanding this can be quite helpful for contract trading.