Curve DAO (CRV) rallied 14% in 24 hours, with spot flows supporting further upside over the coming sessions. According to reports from AMBCrypto, both on-chain and exchange activity showed stronger capital inflows, supporting a buy-side outlook. However, the rally occurred despite concerning signals from derivatives markets, where traders are positioning against the price movement.
CRV's perpetual market recorded a significant shift toward sell-side positioning during the rally. As reported by AMBCrypto, the Open Interest-Weighted Funding Rate dropped sharply to -0.0078%, showing that bearish traders paid to maintain their positions. This negative reading reflects stronger demand for short exposure among derivatives traders, creating a bearish sentiment despite the price rally. At press time, CRV's Open Interest stood at $108 million, showing substantial derivatives participation during the rally period.
Despite bearish derivatives positioning, spot market activity showed strong buying interest. According to AMBCrypto, traders purchased approximately $1.06 million worth of CRV during the past day, aligning with the prevailing buying trend. This contrasting behavior between derivatives and spot markets created a divided market structure during the rally period, with spot buyers pushing the rally while derivatives traders positioned against it.
On-chain activity strengthened the bullish outlook significantly. As reported by AMBCrypto, Spot Volume increased from $25.4 million on 15th August to $260.1 million, showing growing activity across CRV's decentralized exchange market. Additionally, Transactions climbed from slightly above 11,000 to more than 24,400 during the same period, marking the highest transaction level recorded over the past 30 days. CRV gained more than 45% during this period, according to CoinGlass token performance data.
Despite the strong activity surge, user participation remained concentrated among a relatively small group. According to AMBCrypto, Artemis recorded approximately 417 Daily Active Users, compared with 337 on 15th August. While participation increased, the user base remained below 500 throughout the month, with Daily Active Users peaking near 482 on 4th August. This concentration could make activity more sensitive to changes among a small group of users, potentially testing the rally's durability.
