There’s been a clear surge in demand for Four [FORM] over the past week, with the asset gaining nearly 14% during this period as of writing.
Despite the price rally, exchange-level activity has started showing a shift in investor interest in the asset’s perpetual markets.
This remains one of the key warning signs for whether the asset can truly retain its upward path, as the shift in sentiment becomes increasingly clear.
Venues show seller volume scales
FORM faces heavy selling pressure across trading venues, which could erode its gains over the past day.
Across all ten venues, including centralized and decentralized exchanges, the long-to-short ratio for the asset has been negative, with sellers having the edge.
The Long/Short Ratio measures where perpetual market activity is leaning. Essentially, it tracks whether there is more buying or selling volume in the market. At press time, sellers account for 53% of FORM’s volume.
The numbers behind this shift in seller dominance show the depth of the selling volume.
Currently, CoinGlass reports that the total volume in FORM’s perpetual market stands at $329 million. Notably, roughly $174.6 million of this volume is attributed to sellers.
Retail influenced this
Retail traders have largely driven the rally over the past day, while whales have maintained their position in the market.
CoinGlass’ Whale Retail Delta tracks which side of the market has had more influence on price, whether whales or retail traders. Based on the movement of the line, the drop witnessed over the past day confirms that retail traders have had more control over price.
Yet, the delta remaining on the positive side of the chart confirms that, cumulatively, whale activity over the past day still weighs on FORM, with the metric reading 0.39.
Whales are defined by the depth of their capital in the market, which is usually more significant. Retail traders, on the other hand, hold less capital and tend to react more quickly to market movements.
The concentration of retail traders in the market adds to the skepticism that this group could offload the accumulated buy-side positions they currently hold.
Spot buying remains critical
Amid the ongoing pressure stemming from predominantly short perpetual volume, there is clear evidence that buyers remain active in the market.
At the time of writing, spot netflow data showed that traders had purchased roughly $15.65 million worth of FORM, indicating continued accumulation. This placed the netflow on the negative scale, with a reading of -$1.14 million.
This recent Netflow remains the largest cumulative buy seen in the market in over fifteen days, while other intervals between these periods have shown moderate buying activity.
For now, the overall outlook remains mixed, and there is a high chance that FORM could see a significant decline from its current level despite its accumulated gains.
Final Summary
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FORM gained 14%, but sellers controlled 53% of perpetual market volume across 10 venues.
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Spot buying remains active, with $15 million purchased as mixed market signals raise downside risks.