CryptoQuant Quicktake

Ethereum futures trading activity has contracted sharply even as the asset’s price continues to recover, creating a notable divergence between price performance and derivatives participation.
On August 18, the 7-day average futures trading volume across centralized exchanges excluding Binance fell to $8.4 billion, its lowest level since August 2024.
The contrast with early June is significant.
On June 6, when Ethereum traded near $1,560, futures volume across exchanges excluding Binance stood at $26.6 billion.
By August 18, ETH had climbed above $1,900, while the same volume measure had fallen by roughly 68%.
A similar contraction can be seen on Binance. Its 7-day average Ethereum futures volume declined from $18.2 billion on June 6 to $4.9 billion on August 18, a drop of approximately 73%.
Combined, the two measures suggest that broader Ethereum futures activity has fallen from roughly $44.8 billion to $13.3 billion, representing a decline of about 70%, even as ETH gained more than 20% over the same period.
The data highlights an unusual market structure: Ethereum’s price recovery is progressing far faster than the recovery in futures trading activity.
Rather than being concentrated on a single venue, the decline is visible across the broader centralized derivatives market, suggesting that futures participation remains subdued despite Ethereum reclaiming higher price levels.
If futures activity begins to recover while ETH holds above recent levels, it could signal renewed speculative participation.
Until then, the divergence between rising prices and historically weak futures turnover remains one of the clearest features of Ethereum’s current market structure.
Written by Amr Taha

The crypto market, and Bitcoin in particular, is going through a period where demand and trading volumes are collapsing.
On Binance, which accounts for nearly 40% of volume across all exchanges combined, BTC spot trading volumes have just dropped below $1B.
These are very low levels compared to the highs of March 2024, when several trading days exceeded $15B.
These are the lowest volumes recorded since the end of the last bear market, in 2023.
Such a collapse in volumes reflects a slowdown, or even a halt, in activity among a large share of investors. It's a sign of clear disinterest, one that's becoming quite extreme.
Paradoxically, this seemingly negative signal could represent an interesting window to build exposure, with volatility at its lowest.
Another notable fact, since 2020, Binance has recorded nearly $200T in cumulative volume on Bitcoin alone. To put that in perspective, that's roughly twice the size of the global money supply (M2).
Written by Darkfost

BTC on-chain data leans mildly positive as exchange outflows continue while leverage declines, suggesting easing sell pressure rather than aggressive risk-taking.
Exchange Netflow remained negative at -383.61 BTC after -6,864.59 BTC the previous day. Open Interest also fell from roughly $22.92B to $22.47B, pointing to position unwinding rather than fresh leveraged longs.
Funding stayed positive at 0.006425 but remains well below the recent 0.022807 peak. Exchange Whale Ratio also declined to 0.274645 from 0.406695, providing no clear sign of increasing whale deposits to exchanges.
This is a mildly constructive setup, not a confirmed bullish signal. A reversal to strong exchange inflows combined with rising whale activity, OI, and funding would invalidate this view and increase distribution and leverage risks.
For tomorrow, the key is whether exchange outflows persist while OI and funding remain controlled. If so, the current easing of sell-side pressure may remain intact.
Written by CoinNiel

From July 2026 to now, Bitcoin Stablecoin Supply Ratio (SSR) has been rising faster than BTC price, signaling that stablecoin liquidity is not expanding in line with Bitcoin’s market-cap growth—i.e., the “dry powder” relative to BTC is tightening.
This divergence often implies a more constrained demand backdrop, where upside continuation may rely less on fresh stablecoin rotation and more on existing positioning, making pullbacks potentially sharper if SSR keeps climbing while price stalls.
SSR rising faster than price is a cautionary demand-constraint signal, not a guaranteed bearish one. For investors, it means the market may be less supported by incremental stablecoin liquidity rotation than earlier in the cycle—so upside continuation could become harder to sustain and pullbacks may be more likely to bite if SSR keeps climbing while price stalls.
The key is to treat it as a risk-management input: watch whether SSR eventually flattens or falls (stablecoin liquidity catching up) versus continuing to rise (tightening conditions persisting).
Written by Sunny Mom

The Bitcoin Taker Buy-Sell Ratio on Binance has shown a significant increase in buyer activity, reaching 1.155, its highest level since May and indicating a clear return of aggressive demand in the derivatives market.
This rise reflects a clear increase in buying pressure in the Bitcoin derivatives market, driven by improved risk appetite and traders' expectations of a continued price recovery. The indicator's move above the 1 level also suggests that aggressive buy orders outweigh sell orders, reinforcing positive short-term momentum.
This development coincides with Bitcoin trading near $64,500, making the rise in the indicator even more significant, especially after a period of volatility and selling pressure in the market. The return of the indicator to levels not seen since May reflects a relative shift in short-term order flow, with traders showing a greater willingness to pay higher prices to execute buy orders.
However, the rise in the Taker Buy-Sell Ratio alone does not necessarily mean that Bitcoin has entered a definitive bull run. Continued positive price movement requires confirmation from other indicators, such as trading volume, open interest, and funding rates, as well as Bitcoin's ability to break through nearby resistance levels.
Written by Arab Chain

XRP reserves across Upbit, Binance and Bithumb have declined by roughly 240 million XRP from their late-May and early-June levels, while the distribution of exchange-held supply remains heavily concentrated on South Korean platforms.
As of August 19,
Upbit held 6.40 billion XRP, down from 6.51 billion on May 30, a decline of about 110 million XRP or 1.7%.
Bithumb reserves slipped from 1.85 billion XRP on June 2 to 1.82 billion, a decrease of roughly 30 million XRP or 1.6%.
Binance recorded the largest percentage decline among the three, with reserves falling from 2.72 billion XRP on June 2 to 2.62 billion on August 19, a reduction of approximately 100 million XRP or 3.7%.
Combined reserves across the three exchanges therefore decreased from approximately 11.08 billion XRP to 10.84 billion XRP, or about 2.2%.
Despite the broader decline, Upbit remains the dominant XRP holder among the three venues.
Upbit and Bithumb together currently hold about 8.22 billion XRP, representing nearly 76% of the XRP reserves tracked across these three exchanges.
The data highlights concurrent trends: XRP exchange reserves have gradually declined from their early-summer levels.
Written by Amr Taha

Spot and perpetual futures demand growth have both crossed back above zero on the 30-day sum. It is the first time in months that the two are positive at the same time.
What makes that worth noting is the last time only one of them was. Through April and May, futures demand ran strongly positive while spot demand stayed underwater the entire way. Price went from roughly $70K to $82K on that, then gave all of it back in June when futures demand printed the deepest negative on this chart. Leverage can move price. It cannot hold it.
This time spot is participating. That is the difference, and it is the only reason this reading deserves a post.
Now the limits. The cross is shallow. Both series are sitting close to the zero line rather than pushing away from it, and a 30-day sum that just turned can turn back inside a week. One indicator does not make a floor.
What I want to see is spot holding above zero while price does nothing in particular. Demand that shows up when nothing is happening is the kind that lasts.
Written by RugaResearch

Bitcoin rallied strongly from the $62,000 range to test the $65,000 resistance level. During this upward movement, aggressive market buys paired with short liquidations generated significant buying pressure, driving a steep rise in Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) across key venues. However, exchange-level CVD data reveals notable strategic divergence among market participants.
CVD Breakdown by Exchange
- Binance ($8.8B → $9.6B): Showed a sharp positive surge in CVD, acting as the primary fuel behind the rally and directly supporting near-term upward momentum.
- OKX (-$197M → -$171M): While remaining net-negative, OKX saw buyers step in during pullbacks, resulting in a mild positive recovery in its CVD.
- Bybit (-$579M → -$573M): Remains deeply in negative territory. Bybit traders continued to exert selling pressure despite the rising price, indicating that a breakout above $65K could trigger severe liquidations and leave short positions badly caught off guard.
- Deribit ($550M → $580M): Maintained its positive stance, consistently adding long-side pressure to support the move higher.
Market Outlook
The rally continues to draw strength from Binance and Deribit, with secondary support from OKX. Conversely, Bybit remains heavily positioned against the trend. If Bitcoin sustains its upward trajectory and clears the $65K resistance, Bybit users face the highest risk of forced liquidations and significant losses.
Written by BorisD

Stablecoin liquidity on centralized exchanges has contracted significantly in 2026, with total reserves falling from roughly $80 billion at their late-2025 peak to around $64 billion as the crypto bear market and declining stablecoin capitalization reduce available trading capital.
Binance has proven considerably more resilient than competing exchanges, experiencing the smallest relative reserve drawdown while stablecoin balances at Coinbase, Bybit, OKX and smaller venues have contracted more substantially. Binance's share has risen from roughly the low-60% range around late 2025 to 68.5% currently, while the combined share of several competitors has contracted.
The divergence has allowed Binance to gain market share even while its own absolute liquidity declines, illustrating that the current downturn is simultaneously reducing aggregate liquidity and concentrating what remains.
Written by CQ Research

CryptoQuant data shows a significant decline in the trading volume of perpetual Bitcoin futures contracts across trading platforms. The total weekly volume reached approximately $106 billion, its lowest level since 2022, according to the data displayed on the chart.
Binance continues to lead the list of platforms in terms of Bitcoin futures trading volume, with approximately $60.57 billion, making it the largest contributor to the total recorded activity. OKX ranked second with approximately $14.08 billion, followed by Bybit with a volume of approximately $13.17 billion.
This decline reflects a clear decrease in trading and speculative activity in the derivatives market, especially compared with the high trading volumes seen during periods of strong activity in 2024 and 2025. This comes at a time when Bitcoin's price action appears relatively calmer, which may indicate a decrease in traders' appetite for opening short-term leveraged positions.
While the decline in trading volume may reflect weaker speculative activity, it is not necessarily a direct negative signal for Bitcoin's price. Lower leverage and reduced speculative activity may decrease the risk of mass liquidations, potentially leaving the market better positioned for a strong move when liquidity returns and traders' interest increases again.
Written by Arab Chain

LTHs remain firmly profitable, with sell pressure near cycle lows. BTC is trading at 1.3× the LTH cost basis ($49.4K), while LTH supply sits near its July peak at 16.35M BTC. Supply has declined on only 2 of the past 15 days, suggesting limited distribution.
ETF demand also snapped back, with +$297.5M in net inflows on Aug. 17 after roughly $385–390M of outflows the previous week.
However, the Coinbase Premium Index remains deeply negative at -0.10, marking 102 consecutive days below zero. This suggests US spot demand is still too weak to support a sustained breakout.
Derivatives remain relatively healthy, with mixed funding and stable open interest, showing no major leverage buildup.
For now, the $62K–$66K range remains favored, with a gradual grind higher possible if ETF inflows continue.
The key confirmation: a sustained recovery in Coinbase Premium alongside consecutive ETF inflow days.
Until then, patience remains warranted.
Written by theophiluspep

US10Y is the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield — one of the key indicators for tracking interest-rate conditions and market expectations for the U.S. economy.
On the normalized chart, US10Y has rebounded strongly from its early-2026 low and is now approaching its highest level in several months.
Meanwhile, $BTC remains significantly below its late-2025 peak.
Written by Rei Researcher

Since October, incoming liquidity on exchanges has melted like snow in the sun.
This liquidity is represented here by stablecoin flows in and out of exchanges, averaged over a month. Since October, the months have followed one another with the same pattern, as the stablecoin reserves of major exchanges have done nothing but shrink, month after month.
Today is no exception, with ~$1.75B less in stablecoins on Binance over the past 30 days. On OKX, the trend is similar with -$605 million, and on Bybit, -$321 million. Other exchanges recorded -$311 million on average.
It's now been nearly a year since stablecoins started leaving exchanges, with figures still just as striking on Binance, which alone accounts for ~70% of the stablecoin supply held on exchanges.
This points to persistent investor disinterest in the crypto market.
Hardly surprising when you compare BTC's performance, down around -48% since October, against +18% for the S&P 500 and +23% for the Nasdaq over the same period.
Written by Darkfost

Bitcoin is approaching an increasingly important behavioral threshold, and Short-Term Holders are telling us why this area deserves attention.
Two metrics are currently converging around the same message: STH MVRV and STH SOPR.
STH MVRV remains below 1, meaning the average Short-Term Holder is still holding BTC at an unrealized loss. Spot price remains below the cohort’s aggregate cost basis, with the STH Realized Price sitting around $67.2K.
In simple terms, recent buyers have not yet recovered.
At the same time, the 30-day STH SOPR is once again testing the neutral 1.0 level. SOPR tells us whether coins being spent by this cohort are moving at a profit or loss. Above 1, profits dominate. Below 1, losses dominate.
Right now, the market is effectively sitting on that boundary.
This matters because both metrics are also approaching a descending behavioral ceiling that has repeatedly coincided with local market tops throughout the current cycle.
The pattern suggests something important beneath price: every recovery in Short-Term Holder profitability has become progressively weaker.
Rather than moving decisively back into profit, recent buyers have repeatedly reached levels where selling pressure reappears. Rallies are increasingly being used to reduce exposure, exit around breakeven, or realize whatever profit remains available.
That creates a fragile setup.
If STH SOPR fails to establish itself above 1 while STH MVRV remains below its realized-value threshold, Bitcoin would continue operating in a regime where recent buyers remain financially stressed and rallies struggle to generate sustained profitability.
But the opposite would be equally meaningful.
A clean recovery of MVRV above 1, combined with SOPR holding above 1 and breaking this declining structure, would suggest that demand is finally absorbing the supply coming from underwater holders.
For now, Bitcoin is testing whether recent buyers can become profitable again.
Written by MorenoDV_

BTC history shows that price discovery rarely moves in a straight line. Major advances into euphoric territory have repeatedly been followed by sharp repricing, with deep corrections after confidence was highest. The chart puts that cycle behavior into context: the 2017 peak was followed by an extreme collapse, while 2021 also ended with a prolonged drawdown. These declines marked major shifts in market structure, liquidity, positioning.
What makes the current cycle more interesting is the scale of the drawdowns relative to new highs. Bitcoin has pushed into record territory without yet reproducing the extreme capitulation seen in earlier cycles. That does not remove downside risk. The market has so far absorbed corrections without the forced deleveraging seen during major reversals. The difference between a normal correction versus structural weakness becomes important as price remains elevated.
I would pay closer attention to what happens after each new peak than to the peak itself. If Bitcoin loses ground but quickly recovers, the market is absorbing profit-taking while maintaining demand. If recoveries become weaker while drawdowns deepen, the signal changes. A market can still look strong on a price chart while internal momentum deteriorates. Historically, the transition from shallow pullbacks to persistent drawdowns has been more revealing than any single red candle.
The macro backdrop adds another layer. Bitcoin now operates within a market shaped by global liquidity, institutional flows, financial conditions, risk appetite. Historical drawdowns are a reference, not a timetable. A 70% decline from a previous cycle cannot simply be projected onto the next one. The better question is whether demand can keep absorbing supply near record valuations. As long as drawdowns remain contained, the structure looks resilient. If downside expands materially, the market may enter a different phase.
Written by CryptoZeno

Bitcoin has recovered above $63k, but (STH) Market Cap remains near historically depressed levels — a divergence that may signal that the market is recovering before short-term participants have meaningfully returned.
On August 16, STH Market Cap stood at $235.7 billion, below the previous low of $237.7 billion recorded on October 3, 2024, when Bitcoin traded near $60,800.
The metric had already fallen to $233 billion on June 30, with Bitcoin at $59,044, before reaching only $234.4 billion on July 13, even as BTC recovered to $62,700.
Such deeply depressed STH Market Cap levels are consistent with a major capitulation phase, where losses, distribution and declining participation reduce the value held by recently active Bitcoin investors.
What makes the current structure particularly notable is that Bitcoin is recovering while STH Market Cap is barely expanding.
From June 30 to August 16, Bitcoin gained at least 6.7%, while STH Market Cap increased only 1.2%.
Between June 30 and July 13 alone, BTC rose roughly 6.2%, compared with just a 0.6% increase in STH Market Cap.
This divergence can be constructive for Bitcoin.
It suggests that the price recovery is occurring without a large-scale return of short-term speculative capital.
Market participants who were hit by the previous decline appear to remain cautious, with limited evidence that the short-term-holder cohort is aggressively rebuilding Bitcoin exposure despite higher prices.
The supply data reinforces that picture.
Importantly, STH supply contraction does not necessarily mean those coins were sold; some Bitcoin naturally ages out of the short-term-holder cohort and becomes classified as long-term supply.
The broader signal, however, remains clear: Bitcoin has recovered above its October 2024 price level while STH Market Cap remains below its former cycle low.
Written by Amr Taha

The $BTC apparent demand has shown a negative trend since last November. This signifies actual funds outflow, and simultaneously, $BTC has shown a bearish trend.
However, $BTC demand has recently begun to recover, and Apparent Demand has finally turned positive. The long negative trend has ended, and a real inflow has appeared.
At the very least, this indicates a short-term uptrend, or perhaps the possibility of a trend reversal.
Positive signals are emerging.
Written by CW8900

Stablecoin usage is expanding rapidly worldwide, and Japan is now emerging as an important market to watch.
Japan’s retail sector is becoming a real-world testing ground for stablecoins. The evolution from Matsuya Ginza to Chibo and Lawson shows that the opportunity goes far beyond another payment method.
In 2021, Matsuya Ginza used JPYC through an agency-purchase model, connecting digital-asset holders with physical retail. In 2026, Chibo combined JPYC payments with SBTs to connect transactions with visits, rewards and loyalty. Lawson then tested JPYC, USDC and USDT through existing POS systems.
This matters globally. Stablecoins enable money to move 24/7 and connect payments with wallets, customer data, loyalty programs and eventually AI agents.
I call this “Digital Capital Management”: turning AI, data, digital assets and financial infrastructure into resources that create enterprise value.
For retailers, the next model may be:
Payment × Data × Loyalty × Finance × AI.
The question is no longer simply, “Can customers pay with stablecoins?” It is, “What value can companies create and retain after the payment?”
Japan’s experiments are still early, but they signal a broader transition: stablecoins are moving from crypto markets into the real economy—and could become a core layer of global commerce.
Written by XWIN Japan

XRP Open Interest data on Binance shows a significant increase in the value of open positions in the derivatives market, reaching approximately $461.3 million, compared to around $360 million at the beginning of August. This marks the highest level of open interest in two months, indicating a strong return of activity to the XRP derivatives market.
This surge coincides with XRP trading near $1.00, reflecting a notable increase in the capital committed to open positions. However, the rise in open interest does not necessarily indicate the direction of these positions, as they could be associated with either long or short positions.
The current movement is becoming increasingly significant as XRP approaches key price levels. If the price rises while open interest continues to grow, this could reflect the entry of new positions supporting upward momentum. Conversely, if the price continues to weaken while open interest remains high, the risk of liquidations and sharper price movements could increase.
The current rise in open interest reflects increased participation and speculation in the XRP derivatives market, making the upcoming price movement more significant. Monitoring funding rates, trading volume, and the long-to-short ratio will be important for assessing the direction of these positions.
Written by Arab Chain

XRP wallet activity has shifted sharply toward the withdrawal side across several major exchanges.
On August 17, Coinbase’s 7-day net depositing/withdrawing wallet count fell to -14,300, its most negative reading since July 2024. The metric first moved below zero on July 12, suggesting the imbalance has persisted for more than a month rather than reflecting a single-day spike.
The shift is also visible across other major exchanges.
Binance recorded -3,270 net wallets, while
Crypto.com reached -2,680, with both moving into negative territory around July 18.
The strongest signal, however, comes from Coinbase’s share of the broader market imbalance.
On August 18, Coinbase accounted for 47.3% of the total absolute 7-day net wallet imbalance across tracked exchanges, the highest level since July 2024. The dominance metric measures each exchange’s absolute net wallet imbalance relative to the combined imbalance across all tracked venues.
At the same time, Upbit’s share declined from roughly 40% in June to 12%, while Binance recovered from near 0% on July 16 to around 10%.
The data shows that XRP withdrawing wallets now outnumber depositing wallets across several major exchanges.
This gap is particularly pronounced on Coinbase, where the 7-day net wallet count reached -14,300, meaning significantly more wallets were involved in XRP withdrawals than deposits.
Similar negative readings on Binance and Crypto.com indicate that the withdrawal-side shift is occurring across multiple trading venues, while Coinbase alone now accounts for 47.3% of the total tracked net wallet imbalance.
Written by Amr Taha