Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) has attracted consistent capital inflows, supporting its recent price performance.
Price and trading volume increased together, with volume increasing by over 121% to $82 million. This combination suggests stronger market participation and potential for additional gains.
Market data also showed that the number of holders reached 1.11 million at press time. However, the data did not establish that holder growth directly led to higher prices.
It remains uncertain whether the recovery can continue. Indicators showed bulls gaining momentum, but several risks called into question the strength of the move.
Can VIRTUAL extend its rally?
The liquidation heatmap showed significant liquidation clusters on both sides of VIRTUAL’s price. However, the groups above the price appeared larger, giving the bulls a slight advantage.
These clusters represent areas where leveraged positions could be liquidated if the price reaches them. Such concentrations of liquidity can attract prices as traders and market makers target these levels.
With already bullish momentum, VIRTUAL could extend its rally towards the largest air liquidity cluster.
Despite this, liquidation activity showed an uneven rather than balanced distribution. Shorts saw $50,220 in liquidations, while longs lost $22,760 over 24 hours. Higher short liquidations supported the upward move, although clusters below price preserved downside risk.
Are sellers blocking the rally?
The perpetual market saw stronger selling pressure, creating resistance to a sharp rally.
At press time, VIRTUAL’s buy/sell taker ratio stood at 0.94. A reading less than 1 indicates that the taker’s sales volume exceeded the taker’s purchase volume.
However, VIRTUAL held strong as buyers remained active on high-volume exchanges including Binance and Bybit.
Binance accounted for the largest share of VIRTUAL’s trading volume. Therefore, its order flow could have a stronger influence on price direction in the short term.
The funding rate also remained positive at 0.0049%, meaning long traders paid short traders. This suggests bullish positioning, although it does not confirm that longs control most of the open interest.
Is protocol activity keeping pace?
Protocol usage presented a more cautious picture as activity failed to keep up with VIRTUAL’s price rise. Artemis recorded 1,000 daily active users, up from almost 2,000 on July 10.
Meanwhile, DefiLlama reported over $129,000 in fees. If user activity remains low, it could call into question VIRTUAL’s ability to maintain its rally.
Final summary
- VIRTUAL’s rally received support from increased trading volume, holder growth, and bullish positioning.
- The decline in daily active users has highlighted a gap between market dynamics and protocol demand.
