Glassnode: Selling pressure surges in Bitcoin spot and perpetual contracts; options market shifts towards put protection.

According to Mars Finance, on May 19th, Glassnode published an article stating that signals across Bitcoin derivatives markets are diverging, with the overall structure beginning to weaken. A clear shift in selling pressure has been observed, with the Cumulative Volume Difference (CVD) for spot trading plummeting by 848.7%. Despite this, spot trading volume rose by 4.2%, indicating increased trading activity, but this may be more driven by trading interest than bullish sentiment. Open interest decreased slightly by 2.9%, reflecting market caution regarding leverage in an uncertain environment. However, funding costs for long positions increased significantly by 136.6%, indicating a rebound in demand for long positions and stronger bullish sentiment among traders. But the perpetual contract CVD plummeted by 278.7%, highlighting significant selling pressure and indicating that bearish sentiment still dominates. The 25-Delta Skew for options rose by 42.75%, as traders seek more downside protection, and the market has clearly shifted bearish. Meanwhile, open interest in options and volatility spreads rose by 1.7% and 124.52% respectively, indicating increased market participation and greater expectations for future price volatility. The MVRV of US spot ETFs fell by 6.1%, and net ETF flows deteriorated sharply, indicating weakening institutional confidence. However, ETF trading volume rose by 7.0%. On-chain activity was mixed: the number of active addresses declined, while transaction volume increased after entity adjustments, suggesting relatively quiet network usage, but large amounts of capital continued to move. Overall, the Bitcoin market structure began to soften as momentum, spot demand, and speculative positions all weakened. Options traders increasingly hedged downside risks, liquidity and profitability metrics continued to cool, and the market structure remained relatively stable, but stable liquidity and the strength of long-term holders still provided some resilience to the market.