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Definition

The long/short ratio indicates the number of long positions relative to short positions for a particular instrument. The long-short ratio is considered a barometer of investor expectations, with a high long-short ratio indicating positive investor expectations. For example, a long-short ratio that has increased in recent months indicates that more long positions are being held relative to short positions. This could be because of various factors ranging from market conditions to geopolitical events. The long-short ratio is used by many as a leading indicator of market health and direction, including as a precursor to what the spot markets will soon be experiencing.

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Details

The long/short ratio is calculated by dividing the long positions by the short positions. This gives a ratio representing the number of long positions to short positions. For example, the BTCUSDT instrument on Binance on August 29, 2022, shows a ratio of 1.8145, a long position of 0.6447, and a short position of 0.3553. Simply put, the long/short ratio of 1.8145 means that there are 1.8145 as many long positions as short positions. This would be considered a bullish signal.

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API Endpoints

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Futures

/markets/futures/long-short-ratio/information /markets/futures/long-short-ratio/{instrument}

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who uses the long/short ratio?
  • The long/short ratio is popular amongst professional and less seasoned traders alike. It is used by many as a leading indicator of market health and direction.
Why is this time interval different compared to other endpoints?
  • There is an option to use the 5-minute time frame interval because the lowest granularity offered by the exchanges is 5 minutes.
What is the metricType parameter and what values does it support?
  • The metricType parameter lets you specify which long/short ratio metric to retrieve. There are three supported values:
ValueDescription
defaultLong/short ratio across all accounts on the exchange.
topTraderPositionsLong/short ratio by dollar-weighted position size among the top 20% of traders by margin balance.
topTraderAccountsLong/short ratio by account count among top traders — each account counted once regardless of position size.
  • If not specified, the parameter defaults to long/short ratio across all accounts on the exchange.
What is the difference between topTraderPositions and topTraderAccounts?
  • Both metrics focus on Binance’s top traders, but they measure different things. topTraderPositions is dollar-weighted — it reflects where the largest capital is actually allocated, so a small number of whales with outsized positions can move the ratio significantly. topTraderAccounts counts each top trader account equally regardless of position size, giving you a sense of how many large traders are bullish versus bearish. The two metrics can diverge meaningfully, and that divergence itself can be a useful signal.
Which exchanges support topTraderPositions and topTraderAccounts?
  • Currently only binance is supported. Requests using these metric types with any other exchange will return an empty data array.