DeFi

Open Interest

The total value or number of outstanding derivative contracts (perpetuals, options) that have not been settled or closed. Open interest increases when new positions are opened and decreases when positions are closed. High open interest indicates active market participation and can signal strong conviction. Perps platforms use open interest caps to manage protocol risk exposure.

IDopen-interestAliasOI

Plain meaning

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The total value or number of outstanding derivative contracts (perpetuals, options) that have not been settled or closed. Open interest increases when new positions are opened and decreases when positions are closed. High open interest indicates active market participation and can signal strong conviction. Perps platforms use open interest caps to manage protocol risk exposure.

Mental model

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Think of it as a market mechanic used to price, route, or move capital through liquidity apps.

Technical context

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AMMs, routing, liquidity, lending, and trading infrastructure.

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Open Interest (open-interest)
Category: DeFi
Definition: The total value or number of outstanding derivative contracts (perpetuals, options) that have not been settled or closed. Open interest increases when new positions are opened and decreases when positions are closed. High open interest indicates active market participation and can signal strong conviction. Perps platforms use open interest caps to manage protocol risk exposure.
Aliases: OI
Related: Perpetuals (Perps), Funding Rate
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Perpetuals (Perps)

Derivatives contracts that track an asset's price without expiration, enabling leveraged long/short positions. On Solana, Drift Protocol and Jupiter Perps are the leading perps platforms. Traders deposit collateral and open positions at up to 10-100x leverage. Funding rates keep the contract price aligned with the spot price.

Branch

Funding Rate

A periodic payment exchanged between holders of long and short perpetual contract positions to keep the perp price anchored to the spot price. When the perp trades above spot (positive funding), longs pay shorts; when below spot (negative funding), shorts pay longs. Funding is typically settled every hour on Solana perps platforms like Drift and Jupiter Perps. High funding rates create arbitrage opportunities.

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DeFi

Perpetuals (Perps)

Derivatives contracts that track an asset's price without expiration, enabling leveraged long/short positions. On Solana, Drift Protocol and Jupiter Perps are the leading perps platforms. Traders deposit collateral and open positions at up to 10-100x leverage. Funding rates keep the contract price aligned with the spot price.

DeFi

Funding Rate

A periodic payment exchanged between holders of long and short perpetual contract positions to keep the perp price anchored to the spot price. When the perp trades above spot (positive funding), longs pay shorts; when below spot (negative funding), shorts pay longs. Funding is typically settled every hour on Solana perps platforms like Drift and Jupiter Perps. High funding rates create arbitrage opportunities.

DeFi

OpenBook

A community-maintained on-chain order book DEX forked from Project Serum after its collapse. OpenBook v2 features a fully on-chain central limit order book (CLOB) with maker/taker fees. It supports limit orders, IOC (immediate-or-cancel), and post-only orders. Many Solana DEXs use OpenBook markets as a liquidity source.

DeFi

OFAC Compliance

Compliance with US Treasury OFAC sanctions prohibiting transactions with designated individuals/entities. Circle blacklists sanctioned USDC addresses on-chain. Solana RWA protocols must screen wallets against the SDN list before whitelisting.

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DeFiinterest-rate-model

Interest Rate Model

The algorithm a lending protocol uses to determine borrow and supply interest rates based on pool utilization. Most Solana lending protocols use a kinked (piecewise linear) model with a gentle slope below optimal utilization and a steep slope above it, creating urgency to repay when liquidity becomes scarce. Parameters include base rate, optimal utilization point, and slope values for each segment.

Related terms

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DeFiperpetuals

Perpetuals (Perps)

Derivatives contracts that track an asset's price without expiration, enabling leveraged long/short positions. On Solana, Drift Protocol and Jupiter Perps are the leading perps platforms. Traders deposit collateral and open positions at up to 10-100x leverage. Funding rates keep the contract price aligned with the spot price.

DeFifunding-rate

Funding Rate

A periodic payment exchanged between holders of long and short perpetual contract positions to keep the perp price anchored to the spot price. When the perp trades above spot (positive funding), longs pay shorts; when below spot (negative funding), shorts pay longs. Funding is typically settled every hour on Solana perps platforms like Drift and Jupiter Perps. High funding rates create arbitrage opportunities.

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DeFi

AMM (Automated Market Maker)

A protocol that enables token swaps using algorithmic pricing against pooled liquidity instead of matching individual buyers and sellers. AMMs use mathematical formulas (typically constant product x*y=k) to determine prices based on the ratio of tokens in a liquidity pool. On Solana, major AMMs include Raydium, Orca, and Meteora.

DeFi

CLMM (Concentrated Liquidity Market Maker)

An AMM design where liquidity providers concentrate their capital within specific price ranges instead of across the full 0-to-infinity range. CLMMs dramatically improve capital efficiency—LPs earn more fees per dollar deposited within their active range. If the price moves outside the range, the position becomes inactive. Orca Whirlpools and Raydium CLMM are leading implementations on Solana.

DeFi

Liquidity Pool

A smart-contract-held reserve of two or more tokens that enables trading via an AMM. Users deposit token pairs in specified ratios to become liquidity providers and earn trading fees. Pools are identified by their token pair and fee tier. Pool depth (total value locked) determines price impact for trades.

DeFi

LP Token

A token issued to liquidity providers representing their proportional share of a pool's reserves and accrued fees. LP tokens can be burned to withdraw the underlying assets. The value of LP tokens changes as the pool's token ratios shift and fees accumulate. LP tokens are often stakeable in yield farming programs for additional rewards.