Bitcoin and Ethereum are trading above their August 21 levels despite a sharp deterioration in Binance taker CVD, highlighting a growing divergence between derivatives positioning and price.

Bitcoin’s cumulative net taker volume fell from +$4.76B on August 21 to -$953M on October 7, a $5.71B negative swing.

Yet BTC rose from roughly $77,000 to $83,000, a gain of about 7.8%.

Open interest moved lower from $4.9B to $4.6B, down 6.1%.

Falling CVD alongside lower OI is consistent with deleveraging and reduced long exposure, while Bitcoin’s higher price shows that this selling pressure has not translated into sustained downside.

Ethereum shows a different structure.

ETH taker CVD dropped from +$1.9B to -$2.3B, a $4.2B swing, while price climbed from $2,430 to $2,570, up about 5.8%.

Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum open interest increased from $3.2B to $3.4B, or 6.25%.

Falling CVD combined with rising OI is consistent with short exposure building.

The key signal is price resilience.

Both assets remain higher despite persistent taker selling.

For Ethereum, continued price strength alongside rising OI and negative CVD could increase short-squeeze , while Bitcoin appears to be absorbing deleveraging without losing its higher price structure.

Written by Amr Taha