Video lesson · SignalsMarket Breadth: how to read and use it
Crypto market breadth — share of coins whose order books lean toward bids. The lesson takes 2:06; its full text is below the video.
Narrated in Russian. English subtitles are on by default.
Market Breadth in short
What does Market Breadth show?
A filled line under the chart shows what share of the basket's coins currently have more bids than asks in the book. The gray line is 50%: above it most coins lean toward bids, below it toward asks.
How to read Market Breadth?
- Above 50% means most coins are backed by bids in the book.
- Below 50% means most coins face more asks above price.
- Unlike Market Pressure, it shows how many coins share the imbalance, not how large it is.
How to use Market Breadth?
- Check whether a move is broad: a BTC rally with falling breadth rests on only a few coins.
- A sharp cross of the 50% line shows a shift in mood across the market.
- Use it with Market Pressure: together they show both the strength and the reach of the imbalance.
What do you often see on Market Breadth?
- The share ignores coin size: small coins weigh as much as BTC.
- A BTC rally with falling breadth often rests on just a few coins.
- It shows the state of the market, not direction: on its own it does not say where price goes next.
Where can I find Market Breadth?
In the Liqwall terminal: the Indicators button, the Signals section, Market Breadth. The “Open in the terminal” button on this page opens the chart with it already added.
Lesson text
0:00What Market Breadth is
The rise of one coin and the rise of the whole market are different things. Market Breadth shows how many coins have an order book that supports buying.
0:10How to add Market Breadth to the chart
Press the Indicators button, open the Liqwall list and type Market Breadth in the search. The indicator appears as a filled line in a separate panel under the chart.
0:21How to read Market Breadth
The line is the share of coins in the basket that have more buy orders than sell orders in the book. The gray line is the middle, exactly half of the coins. Above the middle, most coins have a buying imbalance, below it, selling outweighs for most coins. Market Breadth speaks not about the strength of the imbalance, but about its reach: how many coins share it.
0:46Market Breadth settings
In the Depth setting choose the book depth. Right at the price, breadth moves fast, while at a far depth it shows the big balance of forces. The Coins field is the basket: the top 50 coins or the classic twenty. Smooth smooths the line.
1:03An example on a real chart
An example. Bitcoin, 4 hours, breadth at a far depth. On October 1, two thirds of the market's coins have the book on the buyers' side. On October 2 bitcoin rises to 87,250 and on October 5 it holds almost there again, while the breadth line keeps going down all this time and by October 5 drops below the middle.
So the rise rested on a few coins, and the rest of the market did not support it. On October 7 and 8 bitcoin fell to 80 thousand. Breadth hinted at it in advance. A few days before the fall, market support was already leaving.
1:45What to pair Market Breadth with
Together with Market Pressure you see both the strength of the imbalance and its reach. Sectors will tell you which sector pulls breadth up or down. And Market Mood will show whether the buyers' share by the book matches their share by trades.
1:59The takeaway
Healthy growth is when the whole market takes part in it.
Add the indicator to the chart and look at it on your own coin.Free account — no card needed.