Glassnode’s week-ending Oct. 18 readings put Bitcoin (BTC) spot flow and leveraged positioning at odds: seller-initiated trades gained ground as long traders paid more to hold perpetual futures exposure. The measures track separate activity and do not identify a cause for the spot imbalance.
The spot cumulative volume delta (CVD), a comparison of buyer-initiated and seller-initiated trading, moved to negative $83.6 million from negative $67 million. Spot volume reached $5.5 billion, 2.1% above $5.4 billion a week earlier; the added activity came alongside a more negative balance.
Long-side funding payments increased to $1.6 million from $1.1 million, a 49.4% rise. Glassnode interpreted the change as traders showing greater willingness to pay for bullish exposure. Total futures open interest fell 0.3% to $36.4 billion from $36.5 billion. The measure aggregates contracts in both directions, so it does not give the size of long positions alone.
Options pricing added a separate sign of caution. Bitcoin’s 25-delta skew reached 8.6% from 5.2%, indicating puts were priced higher than comparable calls on Glassnode’s measure. Outstanding options exposure reached $38.6 billion, up 3.1% from $37.4 billion, but that total does not show whether positions favored gains or losses. The spread between implied and realized volatility shifted from negative 3.8% to positive 2.1%, leaving implied volatility above realized volatility. Skew remained below its upper statistical band.
Perpetual futures CVD also stayed negative, though it narrowed to negative $562.7 million from negative $891.1 million. The reading remained below its lower statistical band. Glassnode’s measures did not identify a price level at which leveraged positions might be liquidated.
Glassnode’s weekly series recorded $230 million in net outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, compared with $674.9 million a week earlier. Farside Investors separately recorded $526.7 million in ETF inflows on Oct. 19, after the weekly period ended. The Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 27-28.
