Bitcoin derivatives markets are seeing increased activity ahead of Friday’s U.S. jobs report, with traders adding positions as BTC trades above $86,000.

CoinGlass data shows open interest has climbed to about 653,000 BTC, valued at $56.2 billion, from 626,000 BTC on Sept. 30. That represents a gain of 27,000 BTC, or around $2.3 billion, bringing open interest 4.3% higher.

Open interest tracks the total number of active futures and perpetual contracts that have not yet been closed or settled. Although higher open interest indicates that traders are putting more capital into the market, it does not show whether the positions are betting on a rise or decline in Bitcoin.

BTC has advanced from approximately $83,500 to $86,500 during the same period. The combination of rising prices and increased open interest suggests newly established positions are supporting the move.

The perpetual futures funding rate has also increased, moving from around 3% to 10%. Funding payments are exchanged periodically between long and short traders to keep perpetual contracts aligned with Bitcoin’s spot price. When funding is positive, traders with long positions pay those holding shorts.

The higher funding rate indicates growing appetite for bullish Bitcoin exposure, with traders willing to incur greater costs to maintain their positions ahead of the jobs report.

However, the rise in open interest follows a relatively low starting point. Open interest was around 625,000 BTC at the end of September, close to its lowest level in the past 12 months. Speculative positioning is recovering, but it remains important to consider the base from which the increase occurred.

Higher funding can reinforce bullish sentiment, but it also makes leveraged long positions more expensive and leaves traders more exposed to sharp price reversals.

Bitcoin-related stocks were also trading higher before Friday’s U.S. market open. Strategy and Strive each gained about 3%, while Coinbase and Robinhood were up roughly 2%.