Order flow guide
What Is Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD)?
Cumulative Volume Delta, or CVD, tracks the running difference between aggressive market buying and aggressive market selling. It helps traders see the pressure behind a price move—not just the move itself.
What CVD actually measures
Every market trade has an aggressor. A buyer who crosses the spread lifts an ask; a seller who crosses the spread hits a bid. CVD adds that signed volume over time. Rising CVD means aggressive buyers have dominated, while falling CVD means aggressive sellers have dominated.
- Price shows the result.
- CVD shows the aggressive effort behind it.
- The relationship between them can reveal confirmation or absorption.
Confirmation and divergence
When price and CVD rise together, order flow broadly confirms the advance. When price rises while CVD falls, passive buyers may be absorbing persistent selling—or the price move may lack healthy participation. Context decides which interpretation is credible.
A divergence is evidence to investigate, not a standalone entry signal. Market structure, liquidity, timeframe and spot participation still matter.
Spot CVD versus perpetual CVD
Crypto trades across spot and derivatives venues. Perpetual CVD can be heavily influenced by leveraged positioning, while spot CVD reflects direct buying and selling of the asset. Comparing the two helps distinguish organic demand from leverage-led pressure.
WarRoom places order flow beside price, open interest and market context so traders can inspect the evidence together rather than treating one indicator as certainty.