Analyze
Read crypto derivatives data in Basis
Interpret funding rates, open interest, long-short positioning, taker flow, liquidations and options analytics without treating any single metric as a signal.
What each derivatives metric actually measures
| Metric | Measures | Does not prove |
|---|---|---|
| Funding | Periodic transfer between perpetual longs and shorts | That positive funding must cause a drop |
| Open interest | Outstanding derivatives exposure | Whether new exposure is long or short by itself |
| Long/short ratio | Account positioning for the reported cohort | Position size or aggregate conviction |
| Taker flow | Aggressive buying versus selling | Passive liquidity and hidden execution |
| Liquidations | Forced position closures reported by venues | All leverage or every exchange event |
Start with price and open interest together
- Price up + OI up: new exposure joins the move; direction still needs flow and structure.
- Price up + OI down: short covering or leverage reduction may dominate.
- Price down + OI up: new exposure enters a decline; watch crowding and liquidation risk.
- Price down + OI down: long liquidation or broad deleveraging may be underway.
Practical tip
Treat these as investigation branches, not fixed trading signals. Funding, taker flow, venue spread and price acceptance decide which branch is plausible.
Respect venue coverage and disagreement
Basis labels derivatives sources and surfaces partial failures. Different venues serve different participants and can disagree. Aggregation provides breadth, but a venue-specific move can matter more when that venue leads price discovery for the instrument.
- Check timestamps before comparing metrics.
- Do not compare raw open-interest units across contracts without normalization.
- Prefer changes and shares when venue contract specifications differ.
- If one source is unavailable, reduce confidence instead of silently treating it as zero.
Derivatives confirmation workflow
- 01
Mark price structure
Define the breakout, rejection or range before reading leverage.
- 02
Check OI response
Ask whether exposure expands, contracts or stays flat through the move.
- 03
Check crowding
Read funding and positioning relative to their recent regime, not a universal threshold.
- 04
Check forced flow
Locate liquidation bursts and whether price accepts beyond them.
- 05
Write the contradiction
Record which derivatives change would invalidate your interpretation.
Read the options market in the Options workspace
Choose Options in the terminal view switcher, or the options link in the derivatives panel. All venues merges Deribit, OKX, Bybit and Binance: open interest, volume and modelled gamma are summed across them, while implied volatility, skew and the surface come from the reference venue with the most open interest, which the header names.
Market overview holds the headline figures, open interest and dealer exposure by strike, the smile, the term structure, the volatility surface and the expiry risk map. Flow summarises public trades by taker side, strike, expiry and block status. Chain and strategy lab holds the chain explorer, contract detail and a multi-leg payoff and scenario builder.
| Figure | Measures | Does not prove |
|---|---|---|
| Max pain | The settlement strike paying option holders least, from open interest | That price will settle there |
| Gamma exposure | Modelled dealer hedging sensitivity under a stated positioning assumption | Actual dealer positions |
| 25-delta risk reversal | Call implied volatility minus put implied volatility | Future direction |
| Taker-bought premium | Premium where the aggressor paid the offer | That the buyer is directional rather than hedging |
Important
Gamma, vanna and charm exposure assume customers sell calls and buy puts. Flow windows differ by venue: Deribit covers a full day, OKX and Bybit only their latest trades. Read the labels before comparing.