BITCOIN TRADING VOLUME

What is Bitcoin Trading Volume?

Trading Volume measures how much Bitcoin traded during each candle in the market covered by this page. Maketo expresses it in BTC. It measures activity, not the direction of that activity: every completed trade has both a buyer and a seller, and the same Bitcoin can change hands repeatedly.The main view shows BTC volume and a 20-candle simple average. Other views answer more specific questions. Relative volume compares the current candle with the preceding average. Volume change compares it with an earlier candle. The seven-period trend compares average activity across two adjacent groups of candles.These comparisons have different denominators, so apparently similar numbers can mean different things. A ratio of 1.5 means one and a half times a reference amount. A change of 50% means an increase of half that reference amount. Neither means that 50% of the Bitcoin supply traded or that buying exceeded selling by 50%.

Start with the unit and elapsed time

A 1-hour candle contains activity during one hour; a daily candle contains a full UTC day when complete. Larger intervals naturally contain more trading. Compare matched intervals and distinguish a forming candle from a completed one before calling activity unusually high or low.

Use relative volume for a preceding baseline

Maketo’s relative views divide current volume by the average of the preceding 20 or 30 candles, excluding the current candle. A value above 1 means busier than that reference, below 1 means quieter, and 1 means equal. Excluding the current candle prevents its own volume from raising the denominator against which it is assessed.

Read direction labels as activity only

Busier trading and Quieter trading describe volume, not price. The main view compares with the preceding candle, relative views compare with 1, and percentage-change views compare with zero. Volume supplies context without an upward or downward price vote.

How Trading Volume is calculated

Base volume is measured in BTC. Relative volume divides the latest completed candle’s volume by the preceding 20-candle average; a 30-period preset is also available. The page is published on Volume and average, period 20. A period counts candles at the interval you choose, so the same setting covers a different stretch of time on a one-hour chart than on a daily one. How smoothing and missing candles are handled.

A calculation you can follow

These illustrative values contrast the main average, relative volume, and percentage change without using a dated market example. Suppose each of the preceding 20 candles traded 100 BTC and the current candle trades 150 BTC. Relative volume is 150 ÷ 100 = 1.5.The main 20-candle average includes the current observation, so it now contains nineteen candles at 100 BTC plus one at 150 BTC. Its value is 102.5 BTC. That is a different baseline from the preceding-only relative calculation.If the immediately preceding candle traded 100 BTC, the one-period volume change is 100 × (150 ÷ 100 − 1) = 50%.For the seven-period trend, suppose the newest seven-candle group averages 120 BTC and the preceding seven averages 100 BTC. The trend is 100 × (120 ÷ 100 − 1) = 20%, regardless of whether the final candle alone rose or fell in volume.The same current volume can be shown as a BTC amount, a ratio to an earlier baseline, or a percentage change. State which comparison you mean when citing the result.

Average and relative periods

The main average includes the current candle; relative volume does not. A 20-candle relative reading needs 21 candles. Longer baselines are less affected by one quiet or busy prior candle, but take longer to reflect a sustained change in activity.

Change and trend lookbacks

Volume change with period 1 compares adjacent candles; a larger period compares with that many candles earlier. The default trend uses two adjacent seven-candle blocks. On a daily interval those are two groups of seven days, not a comparison of the same weekday or a seasonal adjustment.

Zero volume and forming candles

A zero denominator makes a ratio or percentage change unavailable. Missing volume is not replaced with zero. A forming candle contains only the activity recorded so far; the page does not automatically extrapolate it to a full interval.

BTC volume differs from dollar volume

The same BTC amount represents more dollar value when Bitcoin’s price is higher. A chart labelled BTC can therefore look steady while dollar turnover changes. Exact dollar turnover also requires actual trade values, rather than a single candle price multiplied by volume.

More activity does not identify the initiating side

High volume can accompany rises, falls, or little net price change. Determining whether buyers or sellers initiated more of it requires directional trade records. The histogram alone cannot supply that classification.

Trading Volume compared with On-Balance Volume

Trading Volume keeps all recorded activity positive and compares its amount over time. On-Balance Volume assigns the whole candle’s volume a positive or negative sign according to its closing-price change. That creates a directional summary, but still does not classify individual trades. Open Bitcoin On-Balance Volume.

Does relative volume account for weekends or time of day?

No. These views compare with the immediately preceding candles. They do not compare only matching hours, weekdays, or other seasonal groups. Regular changes in activity can therefore affect the ratio.

Can total traded BTC exceed the amount of Bitcoin that exists?

Over a sufficiently long period it can, because the same coins can be traded repeatedly. Volume counts trading activity rather than unique coins or the outstanding supply.