Long/Short & Taker Volume Metrics: LSA, LSP, GLSA, TBSV

Long/Short & Taker Volume Metrics

GLSA, T20_LSA, T20_LSP, TBSV

What do these metrics measure?

These four metrics show which side of the futures market the capital is on (long vs short) and who is aggressively buying or selling at a given moment.

All of them are ratios:

1.0 → balance between both sides
High levels → clear dominance of one side
Low levels → clear dominance of the opposite side

TL;DR – quick overview

GLSA_BTCUSDT – Global Long/Short Accounts

Code: GLSA_BTCUSDT

What is it?
GLSA shows the ratio of accounts with net long positions to accounts with net short positions on BTCUSDT.

How to read it

• A value close to 1.0 → the number of long and short accounts is similar.
• High GLSA levels → many more accounts hold net long positions than net short.
• Low GLSA levels → many more accounts hold net short positions than net long.

GLSA reflects the sentiment of the entire market – every account counts the same, regardless of position size.

T20_LSA_BTCUSDT – Top20% Long/Short Accounts

Code: T20_LSA_BTCUSDT

What is it?
T20_LSA shows the ratio of long to short accounts within the Top 20% of traders
(for example ranked by balance, volume or performance, depending on the data provider).

How to read it

• A value close to 1.0 → top traders are relatively balanced.
• High T20_LSA levels → clearly more Top 20% accounts are net long.
• Low T20_LSA levels → clearly more Top 20% accounts are net short.

The key is comparing T20_LSA with GLSA:

• When GLSA and T20_LSA are both high, both the crowd and the Top 20% are positioned in the same direction.
• When GLSA is high but T20_LSA is low (or the other way around), it means retail and top traders are on opposite sides.

T20_LSP_BTCUSDT – Top20% Long/Short Positions

Code: T20_LSP_BTCUSDT

What is it?
T20_LSP measures the ratio of total long position value to total short position value among the Top 20% traders.
It does not count accounts – it looks at capital in positions.

How to read it

• A value near 1.0 → total long and short exposure of the Top 20% is similar.
• High T20_LSP levels → most of the Top 20% capital is on the long side.
• Low T20_LSP levels → most of the Top 20% capital is on the short side.

Relationship between LSA and LSP:

• T20_LSA near balance, T20_LSP strongly skewed to one side

→ the number of long and short accounts is similar, but a few very large accounts hold much bigger positions in one direction.

• T20_LSA clearly skewed, T20_LSP closer to balance

→ many accounts are on one side, but the total capital is not that one-sided (the bias may be less important).

TBSV_BTCUSDT – Taker Buy/Sell Volume

Code: TBSV_BTCUSDT

What is it?
TBSV shows the ratio of taker BUY volume to taker SELL volume for a given time period.
In other words – it answers: are aggressive market participants currently buying more or selling more?

How to read it

• A value near 1.0 → aggressive buyers and sellers are roughly balanced.
• High TBSV levels → aggressive buying dominates (taker BUY volume is higher).
• Low TBSV levels → aggressive selling dominates (taker SELL volume is higher).

TBSV works best when viewed together with price and the long/short metrics:

• High TBSV + long bias in LSA/LSP → an up-move is supported by both capital and aggressive buying.
• High TBSV but price is flat or falling → possible absorption of buy volume by large sell orders.
• Low TBSV with a strong short bias → aggressive selling dominates, which increases downside pressure or sets up a later short squeeze.

How to use these metrics together

Example reasoning patterns (without fixed numeric thresholds):

• GLSA and T20_LSA at high levels on the long side, T20_LSP also high, TBSV often shows BUY dominance

→ the market is heavily positioned long in terms of number of accounts and capital; upside moves are supported by aggressive buying, but if sentiment flips, the risk of a sharp correction increases.

• GLSA high on the long side, while T20_LSA and T20_LSP are low (Top 20% positioned short), and TBSV shifts toward SELL

→ the crowd is long, professional capital is short, and aggressive sellers start to dominate – this environment often leads to deeper declines and potential long squeezes.

• GLSA, T20_LSA and T20_LSP close to balance, TBSV quickly switching between BUY and SELL

→ the market is undecided; this is more of a short-term trading environment than a strong trend setup.

Advantages

Risks / limitations

Updated on: 11/12/2025