GuideHow to read an order book heatmap
An order book heatmap shows where large buy and sell orders rest in the book and how they moved over time. A price chart shows the trades that have happened; the heatmap shows the orders that are still waiting.
What do I see on the map?
Time runs left to right, price runs bottom to top. The brighter a band, the more money rests at that price. Bands below the price are buy orders, bands above it are sell orders. A long bright band is called a wall.
The current numbers for Bitcoin — the orders within 2% of the price on each side and the largest levels — are on the BTC order book heatmap.
What should I read on the map?
- Where the walls are. The nearest bright bands above and below the price are the places where the price may slow down.
- How old a wall is. A band that runs across many hours has stood through several approaches of the price. A band that appeared a few minutes ago has proved nothing yet.
- How a wall ended. If the band stops before the price reaches it, its owner pulled the order. If the band stops exactly where the price touched it, the market ate the wall.
- What happens at the touch. Many market orders hit the wall and the price does not move. This is absorption: the resting order took the whole burst.
How is it different from a liquidation heatmap?
| Order book heatmap | Liquidation heatmap | |
|---|---|---|
| What it shows | Orders that traders placed themselves | Levels where positions are closed by force |
| Can it vanish? | Yes: the owner can pull the order at any moment | Only if the positions are closed |
| On Liqwall | Order book heatmap | Liquidation heatmap |
Read them together: a wall in front of a liquidation cluster and a wall behind it mean different things.
What are the common mistakes?
- Believing every wall. A wall is an intention, not a deal. Large orders are often placed to be seen and pulled before the price arrives.
- Looking at one moment. A snapshot of the book cannot tell an old wall from a new one. The history can.
- Forgetting the other exchanges. A wall on one exchange may be small next to the orders on the others.
Where can I see it on Liqwall?
- The order book heatmap, free and without sign-up: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and HYPE.
- In the terminal: the same map behind the candles for 14 exchanges, walls marked "pulled" or "eaten", absorption and order book imbalance on the chart; on Hyperliquid — the owners of walls.
In the terminal the order book of 14 exchanges lies behind the candles, and walls are marked when they are pulled or eaten.Free forever — this is not a trial. Sign-up takes a minute, no card required.
Questions and answers
What is a wall in the order book?
A large resting order, or several at neighbouring prices, that is noticeably bigger than the orders around it.
What does it mean that a wall was pulled?
Its owner cancelled the order before the price reached it.
What is absorption?
A burst of market orders runs into a resting order and the price does not move: the wall absorbed the burst.
Does a big wall mean the price will bounce?
No. A wall can hold, be eaten or be pulled; the map shows which of these happened before.