BID / ASK: how much money is waiting in the book near the price

What it shows

Candles show where price has been. The order book shows who is waiting for it: buyers below the price, sellers above.

BID / ASK adds those orders up in dollars at each depth:

• BID 3: all limit buy orders within 3% below the price;
• ASK 3: all limit sell orders within 3% above the price.

Depths: 1.5%, 3%, 5%, 8%, 15%, 30%, 60%. The smaller the depth, the closer to the price and the faster the line moves. Values are in millions of dollars (M).

How to add it

1. Open Chart and pick a coin, for example BTCUSDT.
2. Click Add indicator (1) → BID/ASK (2).

   

3. On the Arguments tab, open Coin type (1): COIN is this coin, TOTAL (2) is the whole market.

   

4. On the Style tab, tick the depths you want to see. BID 3 and ASK 3 are on by default (1).
5. Click Apply (4). The indicator shows up in its own pane under the price chart.

   

You need an account: without signing in, the platform will offer to sign up.

Settings

DIFF: BID minus ASK

DIFF is BID minus ASK as one line. DIFF 3 = BID 3 − ASK 3: above zero, buyers have more; below zero, sellers do. DIFF 3B-8A = BID 3 − ASK 8, comparing two different depths. You can build your own pair at the bottom of the Style tab (3 on the screenshot above).

Bands: highlight candles where a condition holds

The Bands tab shades the price chart background on every candle where your conditions hold. One look shows how often the condition happens and what price did next.

1. Draw bands: turn the highlight on.
2. Band colour: colour of the bands.
3. Left side. Line is an indicator line (only lines turned on in the Style tab are listed), Number is a fixed value.
4. Comparison: > < >= <= =.
5. Right side: another line (Line) or a number (Number). Numbers are in full dollars: $300M = 300000000.
6. Add condition: add one more. Conditions are joined with AND, so a band appears only where all of them hold. Remove one with ×.
7. Apply.

The screenshot uses BID 3 > ASK 3. The result:

Bands inside BID/ASK work with the lines of that one indicator. To combine conditions from several panes, say a coin and TOTAL, use the separate Condition Bands indicator.

How to read it

BID above ASK: buyers are holding the price

There is more money bidding near the price than offering. A seller has to eat through more orders to push price down.

ASK above BID: sellers are capping the move up

More money is waiting to sell above the price. To go higher, buyers have to absorb it.

Lines close together: no clear edge

If BID and ASK are about equal, the book doesn't favour either side. Better to wait until one line clearly pulls away.

Price and book disagree

Price falls while ASK stays high: the seller keeps restacking orders lower and pushing. Price rises even as ASK grows: the market is absorbing the selling, which can mean a phase change.

Common mistakes

• Comparing dollars across coins. $50M is small for BTC and a huge wall for a small coin. Compare a coin's BID with its own ASK, not with other coins.
• Fixed dollar thresholds. Book volumes change with the market: a number that was a signal a few months ago may never show up today. Watch the balance between BID and ASK (in Bands, use Line, not Number).
• One candle is not a trend. The book changes every minute. Check that the edge holds for several candles.

Try it yourself

1. Open BTCUSDT, timeframe 1h, add BID/ASK with BID 3 and ASK 3.
2. On the Bands tab, turn on Draw bands and set BID 3 > ASK 3.
3. Look at the last week: what did price do after long bands, and after short ones?
4. Do the same on TOTAL. Do the bands match BTC?

Related articles

• Condition Bandsconditions from several indicators at once
• Screenerfind coins where BID 3 > ASK 3 right now
• Telegram alertsget a message when your condition hits
• DIFF long strategyfour DIFF lines above zero on the coin and on the market
• DIFF short strategyASK 1.5 on TOTAL jumps together with DIFF

Not financial advice.