LDO jumps 13% with $40 mln inflows- So why are bullish investors selling?

Key Takeaways

77% of LDO investors voted to buy but sold the asset instead, with cumulative sales topping $3.5 million in the past day. Meanwhile, the derivatives market maintained its position.

Lido DAO [LDO] led the market with a 13% price surge over the past 24 hours. AMBCrypto found that this liquidity inflow has been driven largely by derivative market funding.

However, selling pressure from centralized exchanges continues to grow, dampening the asset’s upside potential.

Investors sell despite voting bullish

Despite the bullish sentiment, selling continues. According to CoinMarketCap’s Community Sentiment, 77% of the 19,300 investors voted in favor of a bullish move for LDO in the past day.

However, on-chain data shows a different story. Spot exchange netflows indicate that investors collectively sold $3.5 million worth of LDO in the past 24 hours—despite the bullish votes.

Interestingly, this divergence has persisted for two days now, with a total of approximately $4.2 million in sell-offs during this phase.

This suggests that spot investors may be treating the bullish sentiment as an opportunity to exit or accumulate at key levels.

Liquidity inflow remains strong

Roughly $40 million has flowed into the derivatives market, according to CoinGlass’ Open Interest data.

Open Interest measures the total value of unsettled contracts—both long and short—within a given period. In the last 24 hours, OI jumped over 15% to reach $266 million, reflecting the $40 million inflow.

AMBCrypto’s look at the liquidation data suggests this surge was largely driven by long positions.

Short sellers have taken the biggest hit over the past day, reinforcing the idea that traders are increasingly betting on upward momentum.

This may encourage more investors to go long, adding further funding to the market. Still, the ongoing liquidity divergence leaves the direction of LDO’s next major move uncertain.

Will LDO become a sinking ship?

An analysis of the liquidation heatmap suggests LDO’s price may be more likely to drop than rally.

There are larger clusters of unsettled liquidity below the current price than above it. These clusters tend to act like magnets, drawing the price toward them.

If LDO drops, it could fall to as low as $1.05, where a major cluster lies.

If the token rallies instead, the upside might be limited. Liquidity clusters above the current price extend only slightly—to around $1.27, a level close to press time.

A move toward $1.27 could quickly trigger a price reversal, setting LDO up for a notable drop in the days ahead.