What it is
Every trade has a buyer and a seller, but one of them started it by crossing the spread. Delta separates trades started by buyers from trades started by sellers and shows the difference for each candle.
The indicator has no settings to tune. It needs the exchange's record of which side started each trade, so on WickSpeak delta reads on crypto charts, where exchanges publish that record trade by trade.
How it is calculated
For each candle, add up the volume of trades that hit the ask (aggressive buys) and the volume of trades that hit the bid (aggressive sells). Delta = buy volume minus sell volume. Bars above zero are green, bars below zero are red.
How to read it
How to trade it
- 1
On a 5 minute Bitcoin chart, watch delta at a known level such as yesterday's low.
- 2
Entry trigger: price tests the low with a candle showing large negative delta, but the candle closes back above the low (sellers absorbed). Buy on that close.
- 3
Stop below the absorption candle's low.
- 4
Target the middle of the day's range or the next level above, at least 2 times the stop.
A later candle closing below the absorption candle's low means the passive buyers gave way, and the long idea is cancelled.
On WickSpeak, delta per bar writes a plain-English reading on the live candle: which side was more aggressive, whether price agreed with it, how to trade it and what would prove it wrong. It reads on crypto charts, which work with no broker connected.
Best markets and timeframes
Crypto markets with trade by trade data, on 1 to 15 minute charts where single candles carry meaning. On higher timeframes the per bar numbers blur together and cumulative delta is more useful.
Common mistakes
- Reading positive delta as bullish on its own without checking how the candle closed.
- Comparing delta sizes across markets with very different volume.
- Ignoring the level: absorption means most at a key level, not in the middle of nowhere.
Works well with
Questions traders ask
What is delta in order flow?
Delta is aggressive buying volume minus aggressive selling volume. Aggressive means the trader accepted the other side's price rather than waiting, so delta shows which side was in a hurry.
What is a delta divergence?
Price makes a new high or low while delta does not agree, for example a new high on negative delta. It suggests the move is running on fewer aggressive traders.
Which markets show delta on WickSpeak?
Delta reads on WickSpeak's crypto charts, where exchanges publish every trade with the side that started it.
What is absorption?
Absorption is when heavy aggressive selling (or buying) fails to move price, because large passive orders on the other side take it all. It often comes before a move the other way.