VELANTHOR / MARKET INTELLIGENCE
Crypto Footprint Charts
A footprint chart opens up each candle to show how much was bought and sold at every price. It is the most detailed view of orderflow, and the clearest way to see absorption and imbalance.
What is a footprint chart?
A footprint chart is a chart type that breaks each candle into the volume traded at the bid and at the ask for every price level. It shows how much buying and selling occurred where, instead of only showing where price opened, closed and moved.
A standard candle compresses all trading in a period into four prices. A footprint chart keeps the detail. For each price level inside the candle, it displays how many contracts were sold into the bid and how many were bought from the ask.
That detail is the raw material of orderflow analysis. It lets a trader see imbalances, absorption and the price at which most volume traded.
Normal candles vs. footprint charts
Candles answer: where did price go? Footprint charts answer: how was it traded on the way?
Two candles with the same shape can look identical but contain very different internal behaviour. One may show heavy aggressive buying at the highs that was absorbed. Another may show thin trading with no resistance. Only the footprint view separates them.
The trade-off is complexity. Footprint charts contain far more numbers, so they are normally used on shorter timeframes or around specific levels.
Key elements of a footprint chart
- Bid volume
- Volume executed at the bid price, meaning market sell orders hitting resting buyers. Shown on the left side of each cell.
- Ask volume
- Volume executed at the ask price, meaning market buy orders lifting resting sellers. Shown on the right.
- Volume delta
- Ask volume minus bid volume for a price level or a whole candle. Positive delta means buyers were more aggressive.
- Imbalance
- A large ratio between buy and sell volume at adjacent price levels, commonly compared diagonally (ask at one price against bid one level below). Thresholds such as 3:1 are conventions and can be adjusted.
- Stacked imbalances
- Several consecutive price levels with imbalances in the same direction. They indicate sustained, one-sided aggression and are often watched as potential support or resistance zones.
- Absorption
- Heavy volume at a level without price moving through it, indicating that large passive orders are absorbing aggression.
- Point of control (POC)
- The price level with the highest traded volume inside a candle or range.
Aggressive buying and selling in a footprint
Aggressive buying
Large ask volume with price lifting through levels, often with buy imbalances stacked on the way up. Buyers are paying the spread.
Aggressive selling
Large bid volume as price drops, with sell imbalances stacked on the way down.
Absorption
Heavy ask volume at the highs where price fails to advance suggests passive sellers absorbing buyers. The reverse applies at lows.
Reading context. The same imbalance means different things at a range low, mid-range, or a breakout. Footprint data is a magnifying glass for a level you have already identified, not a stand-alone signal.
Combining footprint charts with other orderflow tools
- Start with structure and liquidityIdentify the level of interest using market structure or liquidity.
- Watch the footprint at the levelLook for stacked imbalances, absorption or a failure of aggression to push through.
- Check the broader trend of aggressionCompare with CVD. Does the footprint agree with the longer-term delta?
- Add positioningOpen interest and liquidations show whether positions were opened or closed during the event.
When is footprint data especially useful?
At key levels
Prior highs and lows, range edges and liquidity pools, where the reaction matters most.
During breakouts and sweeps
To judge whether a break was driven by real aggression or by thin liquidity.
Around fast moves
To see where volume concentrated and where price moved with little trading.
For entry timing
To refine entries and stops on lower timeframes once a higher-timeframe idea exists.
Limits. Footprint data covers the venue and product it was collected from, and cannot see hidden or iceberg orders. Too much detail can also encourage over-trading small signals.
Footprint charts in VELANTHOR
VELANTHOR includes footprint charts as part of its orderflow toolset, next to CVD, open interest, liquidations and market structure. This lets a trader move from a structural idea to the detail inside the candle without leaving the workspace.
See the crypto trading terminal overview for how these parts connect.
Frequently asked questions
What is a footprint chart?
A footprint chart shows bid and ask volume at every price level inside each candle, so you can see how a candle was traded.
What is bid volume and ask volume?
Bid volume is volume traded by market sellers hitting the bid. Ask volume is volume traded by market buyers lifting the ask.
What is an imbalance in a footprint chart?
An imbalance is a large ratio of buy to sell volume (or the reverse) at adjacent price levels, indicating one-sided aggression. A common convention is around 3:1, but it is adjustable.
What are stacked imbalances?
Stacked imbalances are several consecutive price levels with imbalances in the same direction. They indicate sustained aggression and are often watched as reaction zones.
What is absorption?
Absorption is heavy volume traded at a level without price breaking through, which suggests large passive orders are absorbing the aggressive side.
How is a footprint chart different from a candlestick chart?
A candlestick shows open, high, low and close. A footprint chart adds the volume traded at each price within the candle, split by buyers and sellers.
Is a footprint chart a trading signal?
No. It provides detail that helps explain what happened at a level. It must be combined with structure, context and risk management.
How do footprint charts connect to CVD and open interest?
Footprint charts show aggression within a candle, CVD shows the accumulation of that aggression over time, and open interest shows whether positions opened or closed.
See the market as one system.
Price, orderflow, derivatives and structure describe the same market from different angles. VELANTHOR puts them in one workspace.
Explore VELANTHOR