ONG +71% to $0.166: OI Jumps 59% to $51.5M, Funding Negative

ONG Pushes Higher While Funding Stays Negative

ONG, the token of the Ontology network, climbed another 71% in the past 24 hours to $0.166, extending a two-day run that started from a low near $0.046. The move is notable for what it does not bring: funding rates across major venues remain negative. On Binance, funding sits at -0.02%, and Bybit, Bitget, Gate and MEXC all show similar negative prints. In a normal rally, longs crowd in and funding flips positive. Here the fee stays below zero even as the price climbs, which means the upside is being driven by shorts closing and spot buyers stepping in rather than fresh leveraged longs.

Open Interest Jumps 59% to $51.5M

Derivatives positioning tells a different story from funding. Total open interest in ONG contracts rose 59% in 24 hours to $51.5 million, with Binance holding the largest share at 35.6% and adding 19.9%. MEXC grew the fastest at 354.9% and now holds 20.7% of the market, while Bitget added 101.5%. The 4-hour window shows even faster accumulation, with MEXC up 472.8% and Bitget up 128.7% in that short span. This is a crowded chase: both new longs and aggressive shorts are adding positions at the same time, and the negative funding suggests the short side is still paying the price.

Shorts Paid 68% of $5.1M in Liquidations

The squeeze is visible in the liquidation data. ONG recorded roughly $5.1 million in 24-hour liquidations, with shorts accounting for about 68% of that total. Single-position data shows a similar pattern: the largest liquidated orders on the token are mostly shorts, and several were hit as the price swept through $0.18. With funding still negative, every funding settlement keeps charging shorts, adding pressure on the crowded short side. The risk cuts both ways: if the price stalls, the leveraged longs who piled in over the last four hours are just as exposed as the shorts were earlier.

What to Watch Next

The key signal now is whether funding finally turns positive. If ONG holds above $0.16 and funding flips, the move is being sustained by fresh longs and the rally has a firmer base. If funding stays negative while price rolls over, the run was mostly a short squeeze, and the unwind could be quick. The 4-hour OI spike across MEXC and Bitget is worth monitoring as well: that leverage was built fast, and fast builds tend to reverse fast. Keep an eye on the $0.18-$0.19 zone, which marks the 24-hour high on Binance and Bybit, as the first real resistance.

Data as of 00:55 Beijing time on August 27, covering Binance, OKX, Bybit, Hyperliquid, Gate, Bitget and other major exchanges.