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VIRTUAL surges 12% as bulls align – But downside risk still lurks

By Olayiwola Dolapo · Published March 17, 2026 · 2 min read · Source: AMBCrypto
Trading
Written by Written by Olayiwola Dolapo Reviewed by Reviewed by Saman Waris Updated 01:30 IST March 18, 2026 Share Share
VIRTUAL surges 12% as bulls align - But downside risk still lurks

VIRTUAL continues to gain strength as market sentiment shifts decisively in its favor. The asset recorded a 12% increase over the past 24 hours, reflecting growing bullish positioning.

AMBCrypto’s analysis highlights a rare alignment between Spot and Futures markets, with participants across both segments actively accumulating the asset.

Futures market drives capital inflow

The recent surge in Virtual [VIRTUAL] has been largely fueled by bullish activity in the Futures market. This bias is reinforced by a positive Funding Rate of 0.0022%, indicating that long traders are paying a premium to maintain their positions.

In effect, long positions dominate capital flows into VIRTUAL contracts, signaling strong expectations of continued upside.

VIRTUAL spot netflow
Source: CoinGlass

Within the last 24 hours, capital inflows totaled $12 million, pushing Open Interest to $102.42 million. This sharp increase reflects rising participation and conviction among derivatives traders.

With most of this capital concentrated in long positions, bullish momentum remains firmly intact—at least in the short term.

Spot demand strengthens conviction

Spot market activity has also accelerated, reinforcing the broader bullish outlook. Accumulation began modestly on the 16th of March, with net inflows of just $72,000, according to CoinGlass data.

However, this quickly scaled. By the 17th of March, total purchases surged to $697,140—nearly ten times the previous day’s volume.

VIRTUAL spot exchange netflow
Source: CoinGlass

This sharp increase signals renewed investor confidence. When capital inflows expand at this pace, it typically reflects stronger conviction and a growing expectation of sustained price appreciation.

If this level of demand persists, it could provide the structural support needed to extend the rally. A slowdown, however, would weaken that foundation and expose the asset to downside pressure.

Liquidity clusters leave direction open

Despite the bullish buildup, liquidation data suggests the next move is not yet fully determined.

The heatmap shows liquidity clusters both above and below the current price. These clusters—visible as dense shaded zones—tend to attract price action.

VIRTUAL liquidation heatmap
Source: CoinGlass

While liquidity remains split, the clusters below price appear more concentrated, suggesting stronger downside pull.

This creates a balanced but fragile setup. As a result, the next phase of price action will depend heavily on momentum, with VIRTUAL likely to move toward the dominant liquidity zone in the near term.


Final Summary

Olayiwola Dolapo

Journalist

Olayiwola Dolapo is a Crypto Research Analyst at AMBCrypto, driven by a mission to make the digital asset space more transparent and understandable for all. His journey was catalyzed by an early experience in the market that underscored the importance of deep, foundational knowledge—a principle that now guides his professional work.

This article was originally published on AMBCrypto and is republished here under RSS syndication for informational purposes. All rights and intellectual property remain with the original author. If you are the author and wish to have this article removed, please contact us at [email protected].

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