Where real exchange happens.
The focus is not an isolated chart pattern, but the question: where are buyers and sellers actually trading? Volume, book, auction, delta, absorption.
Para qué sirve
Volume analysis studies the market through volume, liquidity and order behaviour. It seeks to understand where price is accepted or rejected, where interest accumulates and where participation is thin.
| What it observes | What it measures | When it's useful |
|---|---|---|
| Real trades | Volume, delta, footprint | Confirm breakout / fake move |
| Market depth | Order book, spread, liquidity | Execution and slippage |
| Auction | POC, value area, auction | Equilibrium/disagreement zones |
| Microstructure | Market maker, matching | Implicit costs, impact |
Peter Steidlmayer developed Market Profile; Jim Dalton spread its operational use with Auction Market Theory. Order flow is also central in academic microstructure research (liquidity, impact, price dynamics).
Core concepts
| Término | In Cyclepedia |
|---|---|
| Volume | |
| Volume Profile | |
| Market Profile | |
| Order book | |
| Order flow | |
| Bid / Ask | |
| Spread | |
| Delta / Cumulative Delta | |
| Footprint chart | |
| Liquidity | |
| Liquidity pool | |
| Absorption / Imbalance | |
| Market / Limit order | |
| VWAP / POC / Value Area | |
| Auction Market Theory | |
| Open Interest / COT |
Overview: Volumetric analysis
Related tools
| Tool | Role |
|---|---|
| Volume Profile | Volume distribution by price |
| Market Profile | Time × price × volume (TPO) |
| Footprint / cluster | Aggressive bid/ask per bar |
| Cumulative delta | Market buy/sell balance |
| DOM / Level II | Order book depth |
| VWAP | Volume-weighted average price |
| Commitment of Traders | Institutional positioning (futures) |
Infrastructure: Market Maker · Matching engine · Mid price
Representative traders and authors
| Figure | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Market Profile, auction theory | |
| Jim Dalton | Operational Market Profile |
| Supply/demand, market phases | |
| Tom Williams | VSA (Volume Spread Analysis) |
| Anna Coulling | Order flow for retail |
| Ruben Villahermosa | Modern order flow |
| Doyne Farmer | Microstructure and complexity |
| Jean-Philippe Bouchaud | Markets, impact, statistics |
Recommended path
- Trading Volume — what volume is
- Bid-ask spread — bid, ask, spread
- Order book — order book
- Market Order vs Limit Order
- Volume Profile — volume distribution by price
- Volume delta and Cumulative delta
- Absorption · Imbalance · Liquidity grab
- Tradición Wyckoff — structured supply/demand
Prerequisite: Recorrido Bronce · Silver path.
Enlaces
- Tradición Wyckoff
- Slippage · Spot market
- Glosario — volumetric and microstructure terms