What is Footprint chart?
A footprint chart shows the volume traded at each price level inside a candle, split into buying and selling, so you see how the candle was built.
What does Footprint chart mean in practice?
Each candle is opened into a column of price rows. Beside every row sit two numbers: volume that traded into the bid, which is selling, and volume that traded into the ask, which is buying. Highlights then mark the row with the most volume, rows where one side dominates, and the candle's net delta.
Because it is built from individual trades, a footprint needs tick-level data. That is why it is common for liquid crypto markets, where that data is available, and patchier for markets where it is not.
A worked example
Illustrative only: at one price row a candle shows 120 sold and 480 bought. Aggressive buyers dominated that row, which is the kind of lopsidedness an imbalance highlight flags.
How to read or test it
Start by learning to read one cell, then one candle, before scanning a screen. Identify the busiest row, which side dominated each row, and whether the candle's delta agrees with its direction. Then widen out and ask how that candle sits within the last several. Because a footprint is built from individual trades, check how much history your data source actually holds before relying on an old session.
How AKQX handles Footprint chart
AKQX's Advanced Chart draws footprint order flow with POC, imbalance and delta for ten crypto pairs. A free preview runs 30 minutes a day with no account.
See Footprint order flow chart for the feature page.
A common mistake
Reading the numbers without the trend around them. A single candle's footprint rarely means much on its own.
Educational only. This entry explains a term. It is not investment advice and does not recommend any trade, setting or strategy, and example numbers are illustrative, not results.
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