Analytics · Derivatives
Long/short ratio, explained
How futures traders are split between betting on price going up and betting on it going down, why the account ratios count traders rather than money, and how retail and whale positioning differ.
- Reading
- Above / below 1
- Counts
- Traders
- Trader types
- 3
- Source
- CoinGlass
more accounts long, or more short
accounts; Whale Position weighs size
retail, whale account, whale position
Binance chart, plus OKX and Bybit
What is the long/short ratio?
The number of futures accounts holding a long position (a bet on price going up) divided by the number holding a short position (a bet on price going down), on one exchange and one trading pair. A reading of exactly 1 means the accounts are evenly split. Above 1, more accounts are long; below 1, more are short. The Whale Position reading works the same way on position size instead of accounts.
Exchanges publish the ratio at regular intervals. Our chart lets you view it in 1-hour, 4-hour, 8-hour, daily or weekly steps: finer steps show more detail over a shorter window, coarser ones reach further back.
Why doesn’t it mean more money is long?
This is the most misunderstood part of the ratio. In a futures market every long is matched by a short: each contract has a buyer and a seller, so across the whole market the money on the two sides is equal. The Retail and Whale Account readings don’t compare capital. They compare people.
A reading of 1.5 means roughly 60% of accounts are long and 40% are short. If the longs are many small accounts and the shorts are a few large ones, both sides still hold the same total position. That is why Whale Position, which weighs the top traders by size, is worth reading alongside.
What does our chart show?
The ratio for the coin’s USDT perpetual contract on Binance, the deepest futures venue, from CoinGlass. Bars sit above 1 when more accounts are long and below 1 when more are short, and the asset’s price from CoinGecko runs alongside so positioning can be read against price action.
The Traders toggle switches between three readings. Retail counts every account. Whale Account counts only the exchange’s top traders, one vote each. Whale Position looks at the same top traders but weights each by position size, so it shows where the largest positions lean. Under the chart, a table compares the latest reading of all three on Binance, OKX and Bybit.
What are its limits?
The ratio reliably shows how traders are split, but reading one stretched value as a turning point is where it goes wrong. Positioning can stay one-sided for a long time while a trend keeps running.
The account ratios count traders, not money
In a futures market every long is matched by a short, so across the whole market the capital on each side is equal. On the Retail and Whale Account readings, 1.5 means roughly 60% of accounts are long and 40% are short, not that longs control more money. Whale Position is the exception: it splits the top traders’ position size.
One exchange is one crowd
The chart follows Binance, the deepest venue. Each exchange has its own mix of traders, so OKX and Bybit can read differently at the same moment. The table under the chart shows all three side by side.
It measures crowding, not direction
A ratio can stay stretched for a long time during a strong trend. An extreme reading says one side is crowded; it does not say when, or whether, that changes.
Positioning without open interest is half the picture
The ratio shows how traders are split. It says nothing about how much money is at stake. Open interest, the total value of futures positions currently open, fills that gap.
Why does crowding matter?
Many futures positions use borrowed money. When price moves against a crowded side, the exchange force-closes the positions that run out of margin, and those forced closes push price further in the same direction. The more one-sided the positioning, the more positions sit in that path.
That is why the ratio is read as a crowding gauge rather than a forecast. A high reading says many accounts are long; it does not say they are wrong, or that a move is coming.
The ratio tells you which way the crowd leans. It doesn’t tell you whether the crowd is right.
How do you read the chart?
Start with the side, then the size. Above 1, more accounts are long; the further from 1 and the longer it stays there, the more one-sided the crowd.
Compare the trader types. Retail and whale readings do not always agree. When Retail leans one way and Whale Position the other, positioning is split between many small accounts and a few large ones.
Check the other exchanges. A lean that shows on Binance, OKX and Bybit together describes the wider market; one that shows on a single venue describes that venue’s crowd.
Where it fits
The long/short ratio is a derivatives-positioning indicator. It answers how futures traders are split, not whether the asset is cheap or expensive. It sits alongside funding rate, open interest and liquidations as a read on the futures market itself.
It is not an input to the Bitcoin or Ethereum Heat Meter. Those build a slow-moving 0–100 cycle score; the ratio can swing within hours, which is why it stands as its own chart.
Common questions
What is the long/short ratio?
The number of futures accounts holding long positions (betting on price going up) divided by the number holding short positions (betting on it going down), on one exchange and one trading pair. A reading above 1 means more accounts are long; below 1, more are short. The Whale Position version divides position size instead of accounts.
Does a ratio above 1 mean more money is long?
Not on the account readings. Every futures contract has a buyer and a seller, so across the whole market the money on the long and short sides is equal. Retail and Whale Account describe how traders are distributed: 1.5 means about 60% of accounts are long. Whale Position does weigh size, but only within the top traders, so it shows how their positions lean, not the whole market’s money.
What is the difference between Retail, Whale Account and Whale Position?
Retail counts every account on the exchange. Whale Account counts only the exchange’s top traders, one vote per account. Whale Position also looks at the top traders but weights each by the size of its position, so it reflects where the largest positions lean.
Which exchange does the chart use?
Binance, the deepest futures venue, for the coin’s USDT perpetual contract. The table under the chart adds the latest reading on OKX and Bybit for each trader type, so you can see whether the three venues agree.
Where does Blockchain Decoded get this data?
The ratios come from CoinGlass, which collects them from each exchange. We line the ratio up against price from CoinGecko so positioning can be read against price action on the same chart.
Is the long/short ratio used in the Bitcoin or Ethereum Heat Meter?
No. It is a standalone analytics chart, not one of the weighted inputs in either Heat Meter composite. It sits alongside funding rate, open interest and liquidations as a read on the futures market.
Related guides
Others in market structure — How much borrowed money is in the market, which way bets are leaning, and where money is moving.
- Buy/Sell VolumeHow much money is arriving as market orders on each side, across major futures venues.
- LiquidationsWhere leveraged positions were forcibly closed, long against short.
- Hyperliquid Whale PositionsThe largest open positions on an on-chain perpetuals exchange: who is long, who is short, and how close each sits to liquidation.
- Options Max PainThe price at which the most options would expire worthless, for every upcoming expiry, next to the money riding on each.
- Liquidity FlowWhich part of the crypto market is winning share and which is losing it, on a monthly and a daily view.
Every indicator we track — the full glossary.
See where it stands right now
The chart shows the ratio against price on Binance, with a toggle for Retail, Whale Account and Whale Position, plus the latest reading on Binance, OKX and Bybit side by side.