How Does a Trading Halt Affect the Open Interest of the Derivatives Market?

A trading halt freezes the open interest (the total number of outstanding contracts) at the moment the halt is imposed. Since no new contracts can be opened and existing contracts cannot be closed, the open interest remains static.

However, the value of the open interest becomes highly uncertain because the settlement asset (the depegged stablecoin) has an unstable price. Once trading resumes, the open interest may see a sharp, rapid decline as traders rush to close positions and reduce their exposure to the volatile settlement asset.