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Futures positioning among top traders tilted more bullish toward Solana (SOL) over the past day, with SOL posting the largest jump in long exposure in the dollar-margined market—an important signal as derivatives flows often foreshadow short-term market direction.

Data compiled from Coinglass, which classifies ‘top traders’ as accounts in the top 20% by margin balance, showed that in the dollar-margined (USDT) market the long share for XRP (XRP) rose to 65.12%, up 1.19 percentage points day over day. Solana climbed to 63.61%, up 2.06 percentage points—the biggest increase among major tokens tracked—suggesting improving conviction or tactical positioning around SOL. By contrast, Ethereum (ETH) slipped to 59.43%, down 0.76 percentage points, indicating a modest cooling in bullish bets.

In the coin-margined market, where contracts are settled in crypto rather than a stablecoin, XRP’s long share increased to 70.68% (+0.92 percentage points). Dogecoin (DOGE) also edged higher to 63.74% (+0.46 percentage points). Ethereum again stood out on the downside, falling to 63.73%, down 2.83 percentage points—the steepest decline among the major assets listed—highlighting relative weakness in leveraged sentiment compared with peers.

Account-level data pointed to a similar pattern. In dollar-margined accounts, Bitcoin (BTC) long exposure rose to 66.29% (+1.19 percentage points), a sign of improving risk appetite among large traders. Solana remained notably high at 77.44% and rose another 0.67 percentage points, reinforcing its status as a current ‘crowded long’ within the cohort. Ethereum, however, declined to 72.24% (-1.26 percentage points), extending its underperformance across both position-based and account-based metrics.

In coin-margined accounts, Dogecoin posted the highest long share at 88.76%, up 0.66 percentage points from the prior day. XRP and Solana also maintained elevated readings at 82.69% and 82.89%, respectively, both continuing to trend higher. Ethereum fell to 76.06% (-1.00 percentage point), again reflecting comparatively softer demand for leveraged upside.

Market participants watch this dataset closely because the positioning of high-balance, high-frequency derivatives traders can serve as a proxy for near-term sentiment and liquidity allocation. Still, analysts caution that interpreting futures bias requires nuance: some traders use perpetuals and futures primarily for ‘hedging’ spot exposure, meaning rising longs do not always translate into pure directional conviction.

Coinglass also distinguishes between two major venues of leverage. The dollar-margined market is often favored for short-term trading and risk management, appealing to institutions seeking more stable P&L mechanics. The coin-margined market, by contrast, is frequently used by longer-horizon bulls aiming to amplify exposure through leverage. As a result, shifts in open interest and positioning between the two can help investors gauge whether optimism is being expressed through crypto-native leverage or more risk-controlled stablecoin collateral.

For now, the standout development is the acceleration in Solana’s long bias—particularly in dollar-margined positioning—while Ethereum shows consistent relative erosion across both markets. If these divergences persist, they may shape sector rotation and volatility in the majors, especially around periods of concentrated derivatives activity.

Article Summary by TokenPost.ai