Order flow · CVD chart
Free CVD chart: live cumulative volume delta for Bitcoin
Swiftedge Depth is a free live CVD chart in your browser: no sign-up, no download. CVD, cumulative volume delta, is the running sum of aggressive buy volume minus aggressive sell volume. In Depth it is the yellow line over the volume pane, on the same time axis as the order book heatmap, and it starts again from zero at 8:00 PM ET (00:00 UTC).
Open the full CVD chartEvery trade, the order book heatmap and CVD on one time axis, with 30+ indicators. Free, no sign-up.
Open the CVD chart in DepthThe button opens Depth on 5-minute candles with CVD in its own pane and divergences marked. The yellow CVD line over the volume bars is on from the start; the CVD button in the pane's corner turns it off and on.
What a CVD chart shows
Every trade matches a resting limit order, the maker, against an order that crossed the spread, the taker or aggressor. An aggressive buy counts as positive delta, an aggressive sell as negative. Add the deltas up from a fixed start and you have CVD:
delta = aggressive buy volume − aggressive sell volume
CVD = running sum of delta since the reset (8:00 PM ET · 00:00 UTC)
A rising line means more volume was bought from the ask than sold into the bid since the reset; a falling line means the opposite. Bitcoin CVD is counted in BTC. Depth uses each trade's own aggressor side; a chart built from candles alone has to estimate it, for example by counting a green candle's whole volume as buying.
How to read CVD
Slope before level
The number depends on where the count started; the slope carries the information. A steep climb with price rising is a move carried by buyers who will not wait. A rising price with flat CVD is a move made with little aggressive buying.
Divergence against price
Price makes a higher high while CVD makes a lower high, or a lower low while CVD stays above its earlier low. The new extreme came with less aggressive volume. Depth's CVD divergence indicator marks these on the chart. Treat them as context: in the CVD guide's tests on hourly Bitcoin data from 2024 to 2026, a divergence on its own did not mark turning points.
Absorption
CVD climbs steeply while price barely moves: aggressive buyers keep trading, but a passive seller fills them. On the heatmap there is usually a violet band at that price, a liquidity wall. Whether it holds, is eaten or is pulled shows in the book, not in CVD alone. CVD falling into a green band that does not break is the mirror image: absorption by a buyer.
One session at a time
Depth resets CVD at 8:00 PM ET (00:00 UTC), so the line answers one question: which side has been more aggressive today? For a single session, read the change, not the level: note the CVD at the London or New York open and compare it with the value now. A day that opened with heavy selling can stay negative all afternoon while the afternoon itself was net buying.
CVD, footprint delta and open interest
| What it counts | Span | Answers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVD | Aggressive buy minus sell volume, added up | Since 8:00 PM ET (00:00 UTC) | Which side has been more aggressive today? |
| Footprint delta | The same difference, per candle and per price inside it | One candle | Where inside the candle did the buying or selling happen? |
| Open interest | Contracts still open | Running, no reset | Are positions being opened or closed? |
CVD and footprint delta measure the same thing at different zoom levels: the footprint chart shows where the delta happened, CVD how it adds up. Open interest says nothing about who was aggressive; it rises when new positions open and falls when they close. Rising CVD with rising open interest is aggressive buying that opens positions; rising CVD with falling open interest can be shorts buying back. Live numbers: BTC open interest.
Markets with CVD
Depth shows CVD for the Bitcoin, gold, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, US 500, US 100, silver and WTI crude oil perpetual futures markets. Each market has its own Depth, one click away in the top bar: /depth for Bitcoin, /eth/depth for Ethereum, and the same form for the others. The rest of the toolkit: the free crypto order flow tool and order flow bubbles.
Common questions
What is a CVD chart?
A chart of cumulative volume delta, the running total of aggressive buy volume minus aggressive sell volume, drawn next to price. It shows which side has crossed the spread more since the reset.
Is there a free CVD chart for Bitcoin?
Yes. Swiftedge Depth shows CVD live in the browser, free and with no sign-up.
When does CVD reset?
At 8:00 PM ET (00:00 UTC) in Swiftedge Depth, so the line shows the total since the start of the UTC day.
Where does the data come from?
Public perpetual futures data from Hyperliquid and Lighter: every trade with its aggressor side. Everything shown is Swiftedge's own calculation; the FAQ lists the sources.
Does CVD predict price?
No. CVD describes trading that already happened. Swiftedge shows it for information and education; it is not a signal, a forecast or financial advice.