# Classic Order Flow Source: https://docs.marketlens.app/classic-order-flow Order book heatmaps and trades profiles on multi-exchange data. Order book **heatmaps** and **trades / volume profiles** are proven ways to read order flow. Most of them were built years ago for **one market at a time**, so multi-venue crypto needs care: how you **group** prices, how you **sum** venues, and what you can still tell apart per exchange. MarketLens keeps those classic tools and adapts them to **multi-market** selection. See also: [Unified order flow](/unified-order-flow), [L2 order book](/order-book). ## Heatmap Order book **heatmaps** were popularized by Bookmap around **2014–2016** and remain the standard way to see resting limit orders evolve through time: each column is a snapshot of the book, and color intensity marks larger size. Bookmap-style liquidity heatmap reference MarketLens extends that idea with **native multi-market** support. Below: an aggregated heatmap for BTC/USD **spot** across Binance, Bybit, Coinbase, OKX, Kraken, and Bitfinex. MarketLens aggregated multi-exchange order book heatmap Color intensity highlights interesting sizes. Settings (thresholds, scales, themes) help you focus on the liquidity that matters for your workflow. Heatmap intensity and display settings ### Price grouping Book data is first **bucketed** by a chosen price step into **non-overlapping** groups. Bids and asks use opposite edges so the spread stays clean: * **Bids** group **down** (toward lower prices) * **Asks** group **up** (toward higher prices) **Example** with a **\$10** step: several raw asks and bids collapse into a few cells (sizes add inside each cell). Heatmap price grouping: raw ladder on the left, grouped $10 cells on the right; bids group down, asks group up Each heatmap cell’s **vertical center** sits on the **price level** it represents (for example the 1230 and 1240 markers on the scale). Heatmap cell centers aligned to their price levels ### Multi-exchange aggregation After each venue is grouped the same way, the heatmap **always aggregates** across the selected exchanges. There is no per-venue layer in the heatmap: one cell, one value for the whole selection. Sizes are **signed**: **bids positive**, **asks negative**. Cells are summed with that sign: * Same side across venues **adds** (two bids in one cell → larger positive total) * Mixed sides **net out** (bid on one venue, ask on another in the same cell → a **bid/ask delta**, not two stacks drawn on top of each other) Multi-exchange heatmap aggregation with signed bid and ask sizes ## Trades profile **Volume profile** (total volume by price, without splitting buy and sell) was already common for years. MarketDelta’s Footprint® charts (around **2003**) popularized the next step: the same price ladder **inside each bar**, with **aggressive buys and sells** shown separately. Other platforms use other names for that idea. On MarketLens it is **trades profile**. Trades profile reference chart A **trades profile** shows **aggressive buy and sell volume at each price level inside a bar** — who hit the book, not who was resting (that is the heatmap). | Tool | What it shows | | -------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | | Heatmap | Resting limits over time | | Trades profile | Aggression inside the bar (buys vs sells at price) | | Volume profile | Total volume at price (buys + sells) | A core UI goal is to **read size without staring at digits**. Each price level is a horizontal bar whose **length is proportional to size** on a shared scale across the profile. Trades profile with bar length proportional to order size ### Display modes | Mode | What each level shows | | -------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- | | **Trades profile** | Buys and sells **separately** | | **Delta** | **Buys − sells** (imbalance) | | **Volume profile** | **Buys + sells** (total volume) | | **Volume profile (delta)** | Same imbalance idea on a volume-profile layout | A **volume profile** is total size at each level (**buys + sells**), often drawn as bars from one side. **Delta** is **buys − sells** per level. Volume profile and delta modes Comparison of trades profile, delta, volume profile, and volume profile delta modes ### Price grouping Auction analysis **inside** candles needs **stable** buckets. Unlike the heatmap’s bid-down / ask-up edges, trades profile levels are **always grouped down** into **half-open** intervals so every trade lands in exactly one bucket (left edge **inclusive**, right edge **exclusive**). **Example** with a **\$10** step: a print at **1239.9** goes to the **1230** bucket; a print at **1240.0** goes to **1240**. Trades profile half-open price buckets grouped down ### Multi-exchange aggregation Trades profiles work on **executed volume** only (no signed bid/ask book cancellation). You can either: 1. **Aggregate** — sum size at each level (and each side, when buys and sells are separate) across the selected exchanges, or 2. **Show per exchange** — draw venues as separate bars/segments at the same levels. In the separate view, **hover** a venue to highlight only that exchange’s sizes so you can compare without leaving multi-market mode. ## References in product * [Unified order flow](/unified-order-flow) — limits and markets in one visual space * [L2 order book](/order-book) — live multi-market depth * [Tape](/tape) — aggressive prints as a visual stream # Futures Markets Source: https://docs.marketlens.app/futures-markets Delivery futures and perpetual futures — leverage, long/short, open interest, basis, funding, index and mark price. ## Delivery futures Delivery futures originated from a practical need: organise **dated deliveries** of physical goods at **pre-agreed prices** — and later evolved into a main tool for pure price speculation, including **perpetual** markets (below). On futures markets the venue (or a linked **clearing house**) stands in the middle of obligations between parties. On a **physical delivery** future, one side takes the obligation to **receive** a defined amount of goods (e.g. oil) at a defined price on a defined date; the other side takes the obligation to **deliver** on the same terms. Day to day, each side holds a **contract** on the exchange’s books — not a warehouse receipt. Two sides hold contracts cleared through the venue Contract holders can **close** before expiry by trading out — turn the contract back into money. If the market price has moved since they entered, that close settles as **cash profit & loss (P\&L)** relative to entry, without completing physical delivery. | Market move | Side expecting to **receive** | Side expecting to **deliver** | | --------------- | -------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- | | **Price rises** | Closing is **profitable** (exit above entry) | Closing is **loss-making** | | **Price falls** | Loss-making | **Profitable** | People who only want to earn from price going up or down do not need physical delivery. Futures markets adapted to that demand as a more efficient alternative to **margin spot** (borrow the asset or cash and trade inventory). The two sides got standard names — **long** and **short** — and orders use the same language. * **Long** — you stand to gain if price **rises** (aligned with the side that would **receive** delivery). * **Short** — you stand to gain if price **falls** (aligned with the side that would **deliver**). **Where the words come from:** In 19th‑century US stock and commodity markets, a trader who did not yet hold what they had sold was said to be **short** of it — *short* as in *lacking* (they owed the good or shares to their broker). The opposite side, holding or expecting the asset, was **long**. The labels stuck for futures even though the product is a contract, not a borrowed stock. (The *practice* of betting on a fall is older — e.g. Isaac Le Maire and VOC shares around 1609 — but the long/short *words* in this sense show up mid‑1800s.) To take a side you **open** a long or a short. That open commitment is a **position** until you **close** it (the early-exit trade above). A pure price **position** can be held with **leverage**: a smaller stake controls a larger **notional**, so the same price move produces larger profit or loss — and a higher chance of wipeout. Futures typically allow **higher leverage than margin spot** because you are not financing ownership of the asset (or borrowing it to short). You post a **performance bond** (**margin**): a fraction of notional against adverse moves. The venue (via clearing) **marks to market** and can **liquidate** underwater positions before losses exceed that bond. Margin spot still funds inventory or a stock/coin borrow, so lenders and borrow markets cap how far leverage can go. Either way: more leverage → more liquidation risk. | | Futures | Margin spot (simplified) | | ----------------------- | ------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------- | | **What you hold** | A **contract** position | The **asset** (or cash) on margin | | **Go long** | **Open** a long position | Acquire the asset (maybe with borrow) | | **Go short** | **Open** a short position | Borrow the asset and sell it (or venue short) | | **Borrow the asset?** | **No** for a standard short | Often **yes** for a short | | **Ongoing borrow fee?** | **No** for holding the future itself | Often **yes** while short or leveraged | | **Leverage** | Via **margin** on the contract | Via **borrowed** funds / stock | **Matching interests** works like [spot](/spot-markets): **limit** and **market** orders meet on an **order book**. On futures, an order expresses an interest to **open** or **close** a **long** or **short** — four combinations (e.g. “I want to go long” is long interest). A **position** is what remains after fills: long if you opened long and have not fully closed; short if you opened short and have not fully closed. None of that is buying or selling the underlying the way spot does. **Open interest (OI)** is the total size of **outstanding** long (and matching short) contracts market-wide — always equal on both sides. **Volume** is how much **traded** (every match counts). | Trade (one match) | OI | Volume | | -------------------------------------------------- | ----------------- | ----------------- | | New **long** + new **short** | **+** traded size | **+** traded size | | Close **long** + close **short** | **−** traded size | **+** traded size | | Close **short** + open **short** (short transfers) | **no change** | **+** traded size | | Close **long** + open **long** (long transfers) | **no change** | **+** traded size | Futures are a **zero-sum** game among traders (fees aside): what one side earns in P\&L, the other loses. Venues charge **fees** on open/close. Typical crypto futures maker/taker fees are often on the order of **a few basis points** (e.g. \~0.01%–0.05% of notional — check each venue). Holding a dated future itself usually has **no extra daily fee** (perpetuals add **funding** — below). ## Price convergence and basis A **delivery** future’s price can trade **above or below** the underlying for most of its life — free float within arbitrage bounds. As **expiry** approaches, the contract is pulled toward the underlying: **convergence**. **Why:** at expiry the contract becomes the underlying (delivery or cash settlement). Any leftover gap is arbitrage — sell rich futures against spot, or buy cheap futures and reverse. Earlier, **carry** (storage, financing, etc.) can justify a wider basis; near expiry that room shrinks to nearly nothing. **Basis** is that gap — roughly futures price minus underlying (spot or index) price. Venues may say premium or discount instead. Futures price approaches spot toward expiry; basis shrinks ### Manipulation protection
(index and mark prices. older tradfi exchanges and modern binance) Last traded price on a single futures book can **spike**. Spot on the same underlying (no leverage, real inventory) is usually **more stable**. Liquidating or settling everyone off one futures wick is **unfair vs that spot reality** — and gameable if last trade alone runs margin. Traditional futures markets used settlement committees, closing ranges, and later **index-style** references. Modern venues (including crypto exchanges such as Binance) publish: | Price | Role | | --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **Index price** | Reference for the **underlying** — often a basket of spot prices across venues so one thin book cannot alone define “fair” spot | | **Mark price** | Fair value for **unrealized P\&L and liquidations** — usually blends index with the contract market so a single last-trade spike does not unfairly liquidate | | **Last / mid** | What is trading on **this** book right now | Index and mark are the main **anti-manipulation** tools for margin and liquidations on both dated futures and perps. ### Linear vs inverse Futures also differ by **how margin and P\&L are denominated** — common language in crypto; the same idea exists wherever contracts are cash-margined vs coin-margined. **Linear** (quote-margined): margined and settled in a **quote** currency (often USDT / USD). P\&L is in dollars for a given move; profit for a long scales roughly linearly with size × price change. Example style: **BTCUSDT**. **Inverse** (base- / coin-margined): margined and settled in the **underlying** (e.g. BTC), often **quoted in USD**. You post coin as margin; wins and losses are more or less coin. P\&L in coin is **not linear** in price the way quote P\&L is (settlement ties to the inverse of price). Classic example: **BTCUSD** coin-margined contracts. | | Linear | Inverse | | ----------------- | ------------------ | -------------------------------------- | | **Margin** | Quote (e.g. USDT) | Base / coin (e.g. BTC) | | **P\&L unit** | Quote | Base | | **P\&L vs price** | \~Linear in quote | Nonlinear in coin | | **Typical name** | BTCUSDT, ETHUSDT | BTCUSD (coin-margined) | | **Why use it** | Simple dollar P\&L | Stay in the asset; no quote stablecoin | Both can be **delivery** or **perpetual**. Linear vs inverse is settlement currency and P\&L shape; delivery vs perpetual is expiry and how price is anchored (basis vs funding). ## Perpetual futures Delivery futures are awkward for pure continuous speculation: you must **roll** when the contract expires, and **basis** can wander until convergence. A **perpetual** has **no expiry** — continuous exposure, high leverage, and a **funding** mechanism that keeps it near the underlying without delivery. The modern **perpetual swap** was popularized in crypto by **BitMEX** in **2016**. Non-expiring futures have older academic roots (e.g. Shiller, 1992), and earlier experiments existed; BitMEX-style design is what most people mean by “perps” today. In many traditional markets, **dated futures** still dominate; in crypto, **perpetuals** usually carry most derivatives volume. There is no expiry to force **convergence**. Instead: 1. **Index** defines the target underlying value 2. **Funding** pays between longs and shorts so the perp is pushed toward that target 3. **Mark** still protects liquidations from last-trade noise Funding flows between longs and shorts toward index/mark **Funding** is a periodic payment **between longs and shorts** (not primarily an exchange fee): * If the perp trades **rich** (above target), **longs typically pay shorts** * If the perp trades **cheap** (below target), **shorts typically pay longs** That replaces delivery-date basis squeeze with continuous peer transfers. Trading fees still apply on each fill; holding a perp may cost or earn **funding** depending on the rate and your side. Mark remains especially important because there is no single final settlement day for every position. ## In MarketLens Venues MarketLens covers list **spot**, **linear** and **inverse** perps, and **delivery** contracts side by side. Multi-market views can mix those types — see [classic order flow](/classic-order-flow) and [L2 order book](/order-book). Related series: [Metrics](/metrics) (volume, OI, funding). See also: [Spot markets](/spot-markets), [Prediction markets](/prediction-markets). # HIP-4 (WIP) Source: https://docs.marketlens.app/hip-4 Hyperliquid prediction markets with dual yes/no order books. HIP-4 markets on Hyperliquid use dual **yes/no** order books. MarketLens treats them with the same tools as other markets, with special support for the two-book structure. Mechanics overview: [Prediction markets](/prediction-markets). Official spec: [HIP-4: Outcome markets](https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/hyperliquid-improvement-proposals-hips/hip-4-outcome-markets). *Product screenshots and usage notes to come.* # Documentation Source: https://docs.marketlens.app/index Why MarketLens was created, market concepts, and product features. MarketLens exists because modern financial markets have changed, and there is room for better ways to **see** data. We observed a few recurring problems and built the product around solutions that became our core UI principles: * **Single-market orientation** → **Native multi-market** support * **Presentations that depend on reading numbers** → **Visually measurable** views where object size (length, height) encodes value * **Color as the main encoder of magnitude** → Color mainly for **attention**; size for **comparison** Docs cover **how tools work** and **how to read them**. Pitch and product overview live on the [marketing site](https://marketlens.app). Market data is always free. ## Market concepts | Page | Topic | | ----------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | | [Spot Markets](/spot-markets) | Limit and market orders, the book, and trades | | [Futures markets](/futures-markets) | Delivery & perps: leverage, OI, basis, funding | | [Prediction markets](/prediction-markets) | Dual Yes/No books, prices from 0 to 1, matching | ## Product | Page | Topic | | -------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | | [Unified order flow](/unified-order-flow) | Multi-market limit and market flow in one visual | | [Classic order flow](/classic-order-flow) | Heatmaps and trades profiles | | [L2 order book](/order-book) | Multi-market depth | | [Trades (Tape)](/tape) | Visual market tape | | [Metrics](/metrics) | Volume, CVD, OI, funding, liquidations | | [Scripting (WIP)](/scripting) | Lenscript — custom series on multi-market data | | [Liquidations, TP & SL](/liquidations-tp-sl) | Hyperliquid open liquidity: liqs, TP, SL | | [L4 order book](/l4-order-book) | Individual Hyperliquid orders, wallet-tagged | | [HIP-4 (WIP)](/hip-4) | Prediction markets on Hyperliquid | | [Trading (WIP)](/trading) | Chart execution, wallet, and agents | ## Elsewhere * [Order flow product page](https://marketlens.app/order-flow/) * [Hyperliquid product page](https://marketlens.app/hyperliquid/) * [Open the app](https://marketlens.app/markets/) # L4 Order Book Source: https://docs.marketlens.app/l4-order-book Hyperliquid L4 depth — each resting order, wallet-tagged, zoomable like L2. **Hyperliquid** is the first major venue to expose essentially **all trading activity** as open data. MarketLens runs a Hyperliquid node and records streams in real time so those layers can sit next to multi-exchange analytics on the same chart. Most public feeds stop at **aggregated** depth. Hyperliquid can go deeper: **individual resting orders**, each tied to a **wallet address**. That is what we call **L4** in MarketLens. ## Market data depth levels | Level | What you get | | ------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **L1** | Best bid and best ask (top of book only) | | **L2** | Size **aggregated by price** — total size at each level, no order identity | | **L3** | Individual **orders** at each price (order ID / size), without a stable public wallet link in the usual CEX sense | | **L4** | Individual resting orders **plus who** — on Hyperliquid, each order is tied to a **wallet address** | In short: **L2** answers “how much sits at this price?” **L4** answers “how is that size stacked, and which wallets are behind it?” One large resting order and many small ones can look the same on L2. L4 shows the **composition** of the level. ## L4 in MarketLens The L4 view draws **each resting order** as its own visual unit (not only a single bar for the whole price level). * **Hover** an order to **inspect** it (size, price, and related fields) * Same interaction model as [L2](/order-book): the book is **zoomable** and **draggable** (pan) so you can move through price levels at the detail you need MarketLens Hyperliquid L4 order book with individual resting orders ## Wallets and external tools Because each order is address-tagged, L4 is a natural bridge into Hyperliquid wallet tooling. * **Wallet labels / database** — MarketLens uses address metadata from [cryexc HL addresses](https://cryexc.josedonato.com/hl-addresses) where available, so known or labeled wallets are easier to recognize in the book * **Wallet inspector** — **click** an order to open a deeper look in **[HyperTracker](https://hypertracker.io/)** (wallet / activity inspector for that address) Those links turn “size at a level” into **who is providing that liquidity**, without leaving the order-flow workflow. See also: [L2 order book](/order-book), [Liquidations, TP & SL](/liquidations-tp-sl), [Trading](/trading), [Hyperliquid product page](https://marketlens.app/hyperliquid/). # Liquidations, TP & SL Source: https://docs.marketlens.app/liquidations-tp-sl Three more kinds of Hyperliquid liquidity: liquidations, take profits, and stop losses — exchange-native, not models. **Hyperliquid** is the first major trading venue to open up essentially **all trading activity** as data. MarketLens runs a Hyperliquid node and **records interesting streams in real time** so those layers can sit next to multi-exchange order flow on the same chart. Conceptually, **liquidation levels**, **take profits**, and **stop losses** are similar to an **order book**: they describe **pending liquidity** at prices away from the market. If price gets there, something may fill, fire, or force-close. The classic book is only one kind of liquidity. On Hyperliquid you get **three more**. These are **exchange-native** levels from open data — not speculative “liquidation heatmap” models. ## Liquidations Many tools try to **estimate** liquidation levels: how much size would be forced out if price hits a level. With Hyperliquid you can see liquidations **as they actually are**, from venue data. A **liquidation** is a **forced order**: | Open interest | Where levels sit | Forced flow when hit | | ------------- | -------------------- | -------------------- | | **Longs** | **Below** the market | Forced **sells** | | **Shorts** | **Above** the market | Forced **buys** | That forced flow is often read as **fuel for continuation**: a move into a dense liquidation zone can accelerate as bankrupt positions are closed the wrong way relative to the move. **Levels vs fills:** this page is about **open** Hyperliquid liquidation **liquidity** (where risk sits if price gets there). **Executed** liquidations across venues (forced buy/sell prints, bar metrics, scripting) are documented under [Metrics → Liquidations](/metrics#liquidations). MarketLens Hyperliquid liquidations on the chart ## Take profits and stop losses Many venues support **trigger orders**: when price reaches a level, the venue places a child order. That child may be a **market** order (immediate aggression) or a **limit** order (rests as a **bid** or **ask**). Hyperliquid is the first venue that exposes where those resting **take-profit** and **stop-loss** interests sit, so they can be drawn like liquidity — not guessed. ### Direction by type and side of the market | Type | Above the market | Below the market | | --------------- | ----------------- | ----------------- | | **Take profit** | **Sell** interest | **Buy** interest | | **Stop loss** | **Buy** interest | **Sell** interest | What that interest **becomes** when the trigger fires depends on the child order: | Trigger fires as… | Effect | | --------------------- | ----------------------------------------- | | **Market** sell / buy | Immediate aggressive flow (hits the book) | | **Limit** sell | Becomes an **ask** (resting offer) | | **Limit** buy | Becomes a **bid** (resting bid) | So a take profit **above** the market is always **sell-side** intent, but it may print as a market sell **or** sit as an ask. A take profit **below** is always **buy-side** intent (market buy or bid). Stops flip the same way: stops **above** are buy-side (market buy or bid); stops **below** are sell-side (market sell or ask). **How to read them (roughly):** * **Take profits** often act like **resistance / support** — interest that may lean against the move when price arrives (especially if the child is a limit that rests) * **Stop losses** often act like **fuel for continuation** — triggered flow in the direction of the break (especially market children) ### Take profits MarketLens Hyperliquid take-profit levels on the chart ### Stop losses MarketLens Hyperliquid stop-loss levels on the chart ## Four kinds of liquidity (summary) | Layer | What it is | | ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------- | | **L2 order book** | Resting limit bids and asks | | **Liquidations** | Forced closes if price reaches leverage risk | | **Take profits** | Triggered interest that locks in gains | | **Stop losses** | Triggered interest that caps losses / can cascade | See also: [L4 order book](/l4-order-book), [Trades (Tape)](/tape), [Trading](/trading), [Hyperliquid product page](https://marketlens.app/hyperliquid/). # Metrics Source: https://docs.marketlens.app/metrics Basic metrics from exchange data — volume, volume delta, CVD, open interest, funding rates, and liquidations. **Metrics** in MarketLens sit next to order flow. Some are **derived** from public raw streams (e.g. volume and CVD from trades); others are **fetched as-is** from the venue (e.g. open interest, funding) because the exchange never publishes the finer grain you would need to rebuild them. That split comes from how open market data has always been. Years ago feeds were scarce and closed: a full **trade** stream was often unavailable, so venues offered **volume** as a ready-made series — and even that was hard to get, which made volume unusually powerful. Access is broader today, but exchanges still **limit** what they ship: order books are typically **L2** with **capped depth**; futures **trades** usually do not say whether a fill **opens or closes** a position, so **open interest** arrives as a separate, less frequent series instead of something you can reconstruct trade by trade. The long trend is more openness. Venues keep exposing richer public data; at the extreme, **Hyperliquid** publishes effectively the full market state for anyone to use. This page covers the basic set. Custom series: [Scripting](/scripting). ## Volume and volume delta **Volume** is total **executed size** over a bar or window. MarketLens builds it from the **raw trade** stream; the useful work is **normalizing units** for multi-market views. Venues may report size in **contracts**, **base**, or **quote**. MarketLens normalizes those prints into **base** or **quote** (contracts are translated into the same unit system). Spot, linear, and inverse futures can share one multi-market view. You can **switch base ↔ quote** in the UI; series follow that choice. **Volume delta** is buy volume minus sell volume in those same units: $$ \text{volume delta} = V_{\text{buy}} - V_{\text{sell}} $$ **Buy** / **sell** here follow the venue’s **aggressor** (taker) side on each print: which side crossed the book. Both series are summed into the current timeframe after unit normalization. **Volume** and **volume delta** are usually drawn as a **histogram** under the chart (one column per time step): * **Volume** — stacked bars: **green** buy volume, **red** sell volume; together they are total volume (activity intensity). Volume histogram — stacked buy and sell bars * **Volume delta** — signed bars: **green** when net buy, **red** when net sell. Volume-delta histogram — net buy and sell bars ## CVD (cumulative volume delta) **CVD** is the **running sum** of volume delta over time: $$ \mathrm{CVD}_t = \mathrm{CVD}_{t-1} + \text{volume delta}_t $$ Also derived from **raw trades**. Volume delta is “this bar’s net buy vs sell”; CVD is the **path** of that net over the session or chart. ### Absorption and divergences Traders often read CVD against **price**: CVD vs price: absorption, bullish divergence, bearish divergence * **Absorption** — price stalls or reverses while CVD keeps pushing one way (net buy or sell volume “eaten” by passive size, or the move fails to progress). * **Bullish divergence** — price makes a **lower** low, CVD a **higher** low (selling pressure weakens vs price). * **Bearish divergence** — price makes a **higher** high, CVD a **lower** high (buying pressure weakens vs price). These are **interpretations**, not guarantees. CVD only measures **signed buy/sell volume** from trades; it does not see resting book changes unless you combine it with other tools ([order book](/order-book), [classic order flow](/classic-order-flow)). CVD series under price on a multi-market chart ## Open interest **Open interest (OI)** is a **futures** metric: total **open positions** (outstanding contract interest). Background: [Futures markets](/futures-markets) (including how trades can raise, lower, or leave OI unchanged while **volume** always rises). MarketLens can show OI in **base** or **quote** units (same unit switch as volume and other size series). What each **exchange originally publishes** varies: base only, quote only, or both. **Inverse** products often report a **contract count**, which MarketLens stores as **quote** (contracts × multiplier). **Linear** products more often report **base**. ### Per-venue (original exchange data) | Exchange | Linear / USDT-style | Inverse / coin-margined | | ---------------------------- | ------------------- | ------------------------------- | | **Binance** (+ Aster linear) | **Base** only | **Quote** only | | **Bybit** | **Both** | **Both** | | **OKX** | **Both** | **Both** | | **Hyperliquid** | **Base** only | — | | **Bitget** | **Base** only | **Base** only | | **HTX** | **Base** only | **Base** only | | **Bitstamp** | **Both** | — | | **Coinbase** (INTX) | **Base** only | — | | **BitMEX** | **Base** | **Quote** | | **Deribit** | **Base** | **Quote** (USD-settled inverse) | | **KuCoin** | **Base** | **Quote** | | **Gate.io** | **Base** | **Quote** when BTC-settled | | **MEXC futures** | **Base** | **Quote** | | **Lighter** | **Quote** only | — | | **Bitfinex** | **Base** only | — | ### Converting base ↔ quote When the venue does not publish both units, MarketLens can still **display** the other by converting with a current price. That conversion is **not exact**: * OI is a **stock** of open contracts built up over many prices and times * A single **spot or mark** multiplier is only an approximation of “notional at risk” * Venue formulas, contract multipliers, and inverse vs linear design also matter Treat converted OI as **illustrative** for scale and multi-market comparison — not as the exchange’s official other unit. When both are published, prefer the venue’s own figures. Open interest series on the chart ## Funding rates **Funding** is how **perpetual** futures stay near the underlying without expiry — periodic payments between longs and shorts. Mechanics: [Futures markets](/futures-markets) (funding, index, mark). On the chart, funding is a **time series** of the rate (or predicted rate) the venue publishes. How **jumpy** or **smooth** it looks depends on how each venue builds the rate from **premium** — not a single global formula. * **Smoother** (e.g. Binance) — premium is averaged over the funding interval with **more weight on later samples**, so short blips fade out. Smoother funding rate series on Binance * **Jumpier** (e.g. Hyperliquid) — premium is averaged in a **short equal-weight window**. A sharp premium move can step the rate, and drop out again when that sample leaves the window — so the line jumps even when price is quiet. Jumpier funding series on Hyperliquid ## Liquidations A **liquidation** is a **forced order**: the venue closes a leveraged position when margin is insufficient. That close still prints as **buy or sell aggression** against the book — not optional trading. | Position closed | Forced order | Usual pressure on price | | --------------- | --------------- | ----------------------------------- | | **Long** | Forced **sell** | **Down** — forced selling hits bids | | **Short** | Forced **buy** | **Up** — forced buying lifts offers | So large long-liquidation clusters often read as **bad for price** (forced supply); short-liquidation clusters as **supportive** for a squeeze up. Cascades matter more than single prints: a drop into long liqs can add more sells, which can push price further and trigger more longs. This is **executed** liquidation flow (what the exchange reports as forced closes). It is **not** the same as open **liquidation levels** on Hyperliquid (pending risk if price reaches a level) — see [Liquidations, TP & SL](/liquidations-tp-sl). ### What MarketLens shows Bar metrics use the same shape as trade volume: | Series | Meaning | Color | | -------------- | ------------------------------- | --------------- | | **Short liqs** | Forced **buys** (shorts closed) | **Green** (buy) | | **Long liqs** | Forced **sells** (longs closed) | **Red** (sell) | | **Total** | Short + long liq size | — | **Coloring** matches volume: force sells are sells → **red**; force buys → **green**. That tracks how forced selling usually hurts price and forced covering usually helps it. Units follow the same **base / quote** switch as volume. Multi-market views **sum** liquidation size (like volume), not like OI. Screenshot 2026 08 11 At 01 43 55 ### Coverage: who publishes “all” liquidations? Venues differ in **how complete** public liquidation data is. | Completeness | Venues | What that means | | -------------------- | --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **All liquidations** | **Bybit**, **Hyperliquid**, **Lighter** | Public data is intended to include **every** forced close. | | **Not complete** | **Binance** (+ Aster) | For each symbol, only the **largest** liquidation within each **1000ms** is pushed. | | | **OKX** | Each contract shows at most **one order per second**. This data **doesn’t represent the total** number of liquidations on OKX. | MarketLens charts what the venue publishes. On **Bybit** / **Hyperliquid** / **Lighter**, that is the full forced-flow story. On **Binance** / **OKX**, it is a **sampled** feed — useful for activity and direction, not for counting every forced close. ### Price and original size by venue | Venue | Price on the print | Original size | | --------------------- | ------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | | **Binance** (+ Aster) | Liquidation / force-order price | Linear: **both** base & quote; inverse: **both** after mult | | **Bybit** | **Bankruptcy** price | Linear: **base**; inverse: **quote** | | **OKX** | **Bankruptcy** price | Linear: **base**; inverse / coin-margined: **quote** | | **Hyperliquid** | **Trade** (fill) price | **Both** base and quote | | **Lighter** | Trade price | **Both** size and USD | When only one unit is published, MarketLens can still show the other via **× / ÷ price**. For Binance / Bybit / OKX that price is often a **bankruptcy / liquidation** reference, not last trade — so the converted unit is **approximate**. Prefer the unit the venue actually reported when exact size matters. ## Multi-market When several markets are selected, metrics follow the same multi-market rules as the rest of the product: series can be shown **per market** or **aggregated** where that is well-defined (e.g. sum volume, sum liquidations). OI and funding stay **per contract** — summing OI across different underlyings or venues needs care; prefer comparing series side by side when units or contracts differ. Hover a market in the **markets list** to **highlight** that market’s data in the metrics (and related multi-market views).