# Tips & reading the market

## Depth Profile — tips & reading the market

The **Depth Profile** (order book aggregation) shows **liquidity shape** across **one or many exchanges**. This page gives **usage tips** and **ways to read** cross-venue depth. It is **educational only**, not trading advice. The book can change **instantly**; always use **risk controls** and a **higher-timeframe** context.

**Heatmap columns & strong levels:** For the **per-exchange heatmap**, the **HMAP** slider, and a structured workflow for **support/resistance**, see **Heatmap & support/resistance**.

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### Why aggregation matters

A single exchange shows **only that venue’s** resting orders. **Aggregated** view approximates a **wider** picture: where size lives if you **sum** (or merge) multiple books. That can differ a lot from what you see on **one** exchange alone—especially for global crypto pairs.

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### Tips by view mode

#### AGG ALL (one merged chart)

**Best for:** Quick **overall** liquidity—**where the market** as a whole is thick or thin.

* Look for **broad humps** of bid/ask size at prices that line up with your **chart levels** (prior highs/lows, VWAP, obvious clusters).
* Use when you care about **“is there size here at all?”** more than **which API printed it**.

#### PER-EX (grid of exchanges)

**Best for:** **Comparing** who is **heavy** on bids vs asks.

* **Divergence**: one venue shows a **large wall**, others **don’t**—some traders ask whether flow will **arbitrage** toward that price or whether the wall is **local** to that book.
* **Perp vs spot** (when **P** or similar marks appear): **basis** and **positioning** can differ; wide gaps between perpetual and spot books can interest derivatives traders.
* **Stale** or **disconnected** panes: treat missing data as **“unknown”**, not zero liquidity everywhere.

#### SEL → AGG (merge only selected venues)

**Best for:** **Execution realism**—merge only places where **you** actually trade.

* If you mainly focus on **two** exchanges, select **only** those and read the merged profile as **your** effective depth.
* Useful to avoid **false confidence** from size in venues you **never** use.

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### Reading the “shape” of depth

#### Thick vs thin bands

* **Thick** (wide horizontal mass): often interpreted as **potential friction**—price may need **more flow** to move through.
* **Thin** (narrow): sometimes called **air**, price can **move quickly** through if aggressive orders **consume** what is there.

The shape **aggregated** across venues can **smooth** idiosyncratic spikes from one exchange.

#### Mid-price alignment

If merged **mid** and chart **last** disagree (rare but possible on fast markets), pause and check the **connection** status and **which** exchanges are included. Bad alignment usually means **data**, not **alpha**.

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### Tips for the main chart

1. **Mark your levels** on the chart, then **scroll** the depth view (or zoom price) to those levels and note **bid vs ask** dominance.
2. **Before** a planned entry, check whether **your** side of the book is **backing** the idea (e.g., bids under a long level) or **fighting** it.
3. Use **PER-EX** when a **chart breakout** looks obvious on one feed, but you want to see if **other** books **confirm** the same thin/thick pattern.

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### Order-book indicators (OB Signals / Flow / Micro)

If those studies are on, the **Depth Profile** often **feeds** them. Tips:

* When signals **conflict** with a **simple** depth read, many users **wait** for **candle close** or **retest** rather than fading the book on the first tick.
* **Spoofing** and similar scores are **model outputs**—use as **one** input, not a sole trigger.

See Indicators reference.

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### Compared to the DOM Ladder

|              | **DOM Ladder**                            | **Depth Profile**                                  |
| ------------ | ----------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- |
| **Layout**   | Vertical **price ladder**, row-by-row     | Often **profile / heatmap-style** depth chart      |
| **Strength** | Fast read at **touch** and **few** levels | **Shape** of liquidity, **multi-exchange** compare |
| **Tips doc** | DOM tips & reading                        | This page                                          |

Many traders keep **both** open: ladder for **inside market**, profile for **context,** and **cross-venue** view.

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### Common mistakes

* **Assuming merged depth = fillable size** — real fills depend on **route**, **fees**, and **latency**.
* **Too many exchanges** in SEL → AGG when you only trade **one**—noise rises.
* **Ignoring disconnects** — red connection or missing panes: **downgrade** confidence until live again.


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