In brief
- Open Interest (OI) — total value of open positions.
- Funding rate — and its annualized version.
- Long/Short — ratio of long vs short accounts, top positions.
- Liquidation heatmap — visualization of liquidation levels.
- Taker Buy/Sell ratio — ratio of aggressive buy vs sell volume.
In depth
Why watch derivatives
The spot market tells you what's happening to prices. The derivatives market tells you what's happening to positioning. And positioning is often the cause, not the effect, of moves. When funding hits extremes, when open interest explodes without price moving, when liquidation heatmaps concentrate volume at a specific level — price tends to react to that data.
Open Interest (OI)
OI is the notional value of open derivatives positions.
- OI and price rising together → fresh leverage coming in, sustained but fragile trend.
- OI rising, price flat → position accumulation, tension building.
- OI dropping, price stable → orderly deleveraging.
- OI collapsing, price collapsing → forced liquidations in progress (cascade).
Saturia's module shows the OI historical series and lets you read it against price.
Funding rate
Funding rate is the periodic payment longs make to shorts (or vice versa) on perpetual contracts. Saturia shows both the instantaneous value and the annualized one, which is the most readable way to understand the real "cost" of holding a position.
- Moderately positive funding → healthy uptrend.
- Extremely positive funding → overheated market, ripe for a long squeeze.
- Prolonged negative funding → widespread fear, often a contrarian signal.
Long/Short ratio
The module shows the long/short ratio across market accounts, with visibility on top positions. It's best read as a sentiment indicator, never as a direct operating signal: it's often contrarian.
Liquidation heatmap
The liquidation heatmap visualizes where potential liquidations are concentrated against price. Large concentrations of liquidations are price magnets: the market tends to move toward those levels to collect liquidity. This isn't conspiracy theory — it's mechanical market behavior driven by leverage.
Taker Buy/Sell volume ratio
The taker ratio measures aggressive buy volume as a share of sell volume. It's complementary to CVD: it measures who's pushing in real time. A very skewed ratio signals one side of the book attacking.
Use cases
- Spotting local tops → extremely positive funding + sky-high OI + euphoria.
- Spotting local bottoms → prolonged negative funding + OI collapse + cascading liquidations.
- Anticipating squeezes → dense liquidation heatmap just above/below current price.
Mistakes to avoid
- Using long/short ratio as a direct operating signal. It's noise. Only useful at extremes.
- Confusing rising OI with a healthy trend. If the rise is too fast, it's leverage, not conviction.
- Ignoring context. A 0.05% funding rate is "high" in a calm market and "normal" in a bull run.
A note on exchanges
The module uses aggregated data provided by the backend. The exact exchanges integrated can change with updates: for the current list, look directly in the module or ask support.