CHARTS & INDICATORS GUIDE
Master real-time crypto charting with advanced derivatives indicators
What is the Charts Page?
The Charts page provides real-time candlestick charting for major cryptocurrencies with a suite of advanced derivatives indicators. Unlike standard price charts, EdgeCypher charts integrate funding rates, liquidation data, order book imbalances, and market structure indicators to give you a complete picture of market positioning and sentiment.
INFO
Chart Basics
Configure your chart view with symbol and timeframe selectors.
Available symbols include BTC/USDT, ETH/USDT, BNB/USDT, and SOL/USDT. Each symbol pulls live data from Binance with real-time candlestick updates.
Choose from 10 timeframes: 1m, 3m, 5m, 15m, 30m, 1h, 2h, 4h, 1D, and 1W. Shorter timeframes suit scalping and day trading, while longer timeframes reveal macro trends.
A pulsing green dot indicates live WebSocket connection. Candles update in real-time as new trades come in.
SYMBOL & TIMEFRAME SELECTORS
Configure your chart view
Available Indicators
Toggle seven unique derivatives-focused indicators to overlay on your chart.
TBR (Taker Buy Ratio)
Measures the ratio of taker buy volume to total volume. Shows whether aggressive buyers or sellers dominate.
Above 0.5 = Bullish pressure, Below 0.5 = Bearish pressure
Funding Rate
The periodic payment between longs and shorts on perpetual futures. Indicates market positioning and crowding.
Positive = Longs pay shorts (crowded long), Negative = Shorts pay longs (crowded short)
Liquidation Score
Tracks the relationship between open interest changes and price movement to estimate liquidation pressure.
High scores indicate increased liquidation risk and potential for cascading moves
Volatility Compression
Measures current volatility relative to historical range using ATR percentile. Identifies squeeze conditions.
Low percentile = Compression (potential breakout), High = Expanded volatility
Alt Risk Proxy
Tracks ETH/BTC ratio percentile as a proxy for risk appetite in the crypto market.
High = Risk-on (alts outperforming), Low = Risk-off (BTC dominance)
Order Book Imbalance
Real-time bid/ask volume ratio from the order book. Shows immediate supply/demand dynamics.
Ratio > 1 = More bids (buy pressure), Ratio < 1 = More asks (sell pressure)
Price-Funding Basis
The spread between spot and perpetual futures price. Indicates arbitrage opportunities and market stress.
Positive basis = Contango (bullish), Negative = Backwardation (bearish)
Taker Buy Ratio (TBR)
TBR calculates the proportion of aggressive buy orders (market buys hitting the ask) versus total volume. It's a real-time sentiment gauge derived from trade flow data. Values above 0.5 indicate more aggressive buying, while values below 0.5 show aggressive selling dominance.
TBR INDICATOR
Taker buy/sell pressure
Strong TBR: 0.55+ (Bullish) | Neutral: 0.48-0.52 | Weak TBR: <0.45 (Bearish). Divergences between TBR and price often precede reversals.
Funding Rate
Perpetual futures funding is exchanged every 8 hours between longs and shorts to keep the perpetual price anchored to spot. When funding is positive, longs pay shorts, indicating crowded long positioning. Negative funding means shorts are crowded and paying longs.
FUNDING RATE
Long/short positioning
Extreme positive (>0.05%): Overheated longs, potential for long squeeze. Extreme negative (<-0.05%): Overheated shorts, potential for short squeeze. Neutral (±0.01%): Balanced market.
Liquidation Score
This indicator combines open interest changes with price movement to estimate liquidation cascades. When OI drops sharply while price moves in one direction, it suggests forced liquidations are occurring. High scores indicate elevated risk of continuation moves.
LIQUIDATION SCORE
Cascade risk assessment
Score 0-30: Low risk, normal market. Score 30-60: Moderate risk, some liquidations. Score 60+: High risk, cascading liquidations likely.
Volatility Compression
Using ATR (Average True Range), this indicator shows current volatility as a percentile of historical volatility. Low percentiles indicate compressed volatility - a condition that often precedes explosive moves. The squeeze detector highlights extreme compression.
VOLATILITY COMPRESSION
Squeeze detection
Percentile 0-20: Extreme compression, breakout imminent. 20-40: Low volatility, watch for expansion. 40-60: Normal. 60-80: Elevated. 80-100: Extreme volatility.
Alt Risk Proxy
Tracks the ETH/BTC ratio and converts it to a percentile. This ratio is a classic measure of risk appetite in crypto - when alts outperform Bitcoin, traders are "risk-on". When Bitcoin outperforms, it's "risk-off".
ALT RISK PROXY
ETH/BTC ratio percentile
Percentile 70+: Risk-on, alts likely to outperform. 30-70: Neutral sentiment. <30: Risk-off, capital flowing to BTC safety.
Order Book Imbalance
Fetches real-time order book data and calculates the bid/ask volume ratio at top price levels. This shows immediate supply and demand dynamics. Updates every 3 seconds to capture order book evolution.
ORDER BOOK IMBALANCE
Bid/ask ratio
Ratio > 1.3: Strong bid support. Ratio 0.8-1.2: Balanced. Ratio < 0.7: Heavy ask pressure. Watch for divergences with price.
Price-Funding Basis
The basis is the percentage difference between spot price and perpetual futures price. Positive basis (contango) indicates futures trading at a premium - typically bullish. Negative basis (backwardation) shows futures at a discount - often seen in stressed markets.
PRICE-FUNDING BASIS
Spot vs perpetual spread
Basis > 0.1%: Strong contango, bullish sentiment. Basis ±0.05%: Neutral. Basis < -0.1%: Backwardation, bearish/stressed.
Signal Panel
When indicators are active, a sticky signal panel appears at the top of the chart showing current values and interpretations for each enabled indicator. Color-coded badges make it easy to see bullish (green), neutral (yellow), and bearish (red) signals at a glance.
SIGNAL PANEL EXAMPLE
Active indicators display
TIP
Trading with Chart Indicators
Combine multiple indicators for higher-conviction setups.
Volatility squeeze + TBR divergence = High probability breakout direction signal
Extreme funding + Order book imbalance = Potential squeeze incoming
Liquidation score spike + Price break = Momentum continuation likely
Alt risk turning up + BTC stability = Time to look at altcoin longs
Negative basis + Funding flip = Bottom-fishing opportunity
Multiple indicators aligning = Highest conviction trades
Use shorter timeframes (5m-15m) for entries, longer (1h-4h) for trend confirmation
Watch for indicator divergences - they often precede price reversals
High liquidation + Extreme volatility = Reduce position size
Order book imbalance is best for scalping, funding for swing trades
WARNING
Frequently Asked Questions
How real-time is the data?
Price candles update in real-time via WebSocket. Funding updates every 8 hours (at funding time). Order book updates every 3 seconds. Other indicators calculate from historical data with periodic refreshes.
Which indicator is most important?
It depends on your trading style. Scalpers focus on Order Book and TBR. Swing traders watch Funding and Basis. Breakout traders prioritize Volatility Compression. Use what matches your strategy.
Can I use multiple indicators at once?
Yes! Toggle any combination of indicators. The signal panel shows all active readings. Look for confluence where multiple indicators agree for highest conviction.
Why is liquidation score sometimes zero?
Liquidation score requires historical OI data to calculate. On page load, it takes time to accumulate enough data points. Give it a few minutes to build history.
What do the indicator colors mean?
Green generally indicates bullish conditions, red bearish, and yellow/orange neutral. Each indicator has specific thresholds - hover or check the signal panel for interpretation.
How do I interpret conflicting signals?
Conflicting signals suggest mixed conditions - reduce position size or wait for clarity. Markets are not always directional. Sometimes the best trade is no trade.
Pro Tips
Start with 1-2 indicators until you understand them, then add more
Volatility compression is one of the most predictive indicators - master it first
Funding extremes often mark local tops/bottoms - use for counter-trend entries
Order book data is noisy on smaller timeframes - use 15m+ for cleaner signals
Watch for TBR divergence: price making highs but TBR declining = weakness
Alt Risk Proxy helps time altcoin season entries and exits
Basis going deeply negative is often a sign of capitulation
Combine chart indicators with the Economic Calendar for event-aware trading
Liquidation cascades often overshoot - wait for dust to settle before counter-trading
Take screenshots of your best setups to build a personal playbook
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Next: Risk Regime Guide
Understand market risk states and how to use regime analysis for trading decisions
Read Guide →