Dogecoin was trading around $0.07 or 7 cents as of August 13, 2026. This figure reflects a continuing downward trend, falling nearly 3% in the last 24 hours and completing a 70% collapse in value over a year. The oldest meme coin was even the only major asset to post losses as the market began to slightly strengthen during the morning trading session in Asia.
Despite its sagging price performance, the betting appetite of speculators in the derivatives market is actually heating up. Data shows that DOGE futures open interest - the total number of active, outstanding derivative contracts - surged past $1.21 billion. The value of these bets expanded rapidly from the $930 million range recorded at the end of June.
Betting the Same Amount at a Price One-Third Cheaper
This surge in interest is even more striking when measured in its native coin unit. Currently, Dogecoin’s open interest stands at 17.18 billion DOGE. This pile of wagered coins is nearly equivalent to the record-high open interest in October 2025 at 17.78 billion DOGE.
There is a wide gulf between today’s market and last year’s. In October 2025, DOGE was still priced at $0.25. Now, the price per coin has plunged to $0.07. The level of speculation in coin terms has almost fully returned to its historical peak, even though the value per coin is a third lower. Market players seem busy building positions and ignoring the collapse of intrinsic value.
Across various crypto exchange platforms, the majority of traders agree to bet on the upside. Data from the Binance exchange shows that more than three accounts opened long positions for every one account that took a short position. This one-way bet is even more extreme on the OKX platform, where the long-to-short ratio stands above 5 to 1.
Risk of Automatic Liquidation
The dominance of these buy positions brings additional risk. Derivative traders deploy capital using leverage, borrowing exchange funds to multiply the size of their bets. This risky transaction requires every trader to maintain sufficient collateral or asset guarantees in their accounts.
If the price of DOGE continues to refuse to reverse upward and slides further, the collateral value of these accounts will also be completely eroded. The exchange’s engine will then execute automatic liquidations by force-closing all of these troubled positions. Liquidations from these long positions will dump additional DOGE onto the open market.
This series of processes triggers a domino effect that increases selling pressure, dragging the coin’s price deeper. The ambition to ride a reversal is a common strategy, but excessive leverage bets on a free-falling price trend have a lethal destructive power.
Reported from CoinDesk.
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Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
