Guide
Takers, makers and absorption
Every trade has two sides, but they are not the same kind of participant. One side was waiting. The other side could not wait. Most of what people call order flow is the story of which one wins.
The two sides
| Maker | Taker |
|---|---|
| Places a limit order and waits | Sends a market order and trades now |
| Chooses the price, not the timing | Chooses the timing, not the price |
| Usually the lower fee, sometimes a rebate | Usually the higher fee |
| Adds size to the book | Removes size from the book |
Neither is smarter than the other. They are different trades. A maker is paid to be patient and is exposed to being run over when news arrives. A taker pays for certainty and is exposed to slippage.
Absorption: when the wall wins
Watch a level where a large bid is resting. Sell orders arrive and trade against it. The size at that level drops, and then it is back — the same amount, sometimes more. Price does not fall. That is absorption, and what it tells you is that someone with size is willing to keep buying at that price while everyone else is selling into them.
Two things are worth measuring rather than eyeballing: how much has actually traded at the level, and how much is still resting there. If a hundred units have traded into a wall that started at two hundred and it still shows two hundred, it is being refilled. That is a very different picture from a wall that is quietly shrinking.
Breakthrough: when the takers win
The opposite case looks almost identical for the first few seconds. Aggressive orders arrive, the level trades. The difference is that the resting size is not replaced. Once it is gone, the next resting order is usually further away, and price jumps to meet it. On a heatmap this reads as a bright band dimming and then a gap.
A useful ratio. Compare aggressive volume over the last minute with the size resting right at the current price. When the flow is a fraction of what is sitting there, the book absorbs it and price grinds. When the flow is several times larger, the book cannot hold and price travels. The threshold is market specific — measure it on your own data rather than trusting a round number.
Cumulative delta, and why it can mislead
Cumulative volume delta adds up aggressive buying minus aggressive selling. It is a useful summary, but it answers only half the question. Heavy aggressive buying into a seller who keeps refilling is a bullish-looking delta and a bearish outcome. Delta without the resting side is a story with one character.
What to watch, in order
- Where is the size resting, and how far is it from price?
- Is aggressive volume actually reaching it, or is price drifting on thin flow?
- When it is reached, does the size refill or disappear?
- What is behind it — another level, or empty space?
See it on live data. Swiftedge Depth shows the Bitcoin futures order book as a heatmap with every trade as a bubble, free in the browser and with no sign-up.
Common questions
What is the difference between a taker and a maker?
A maker places a limit order that rests in the book and waits. A taker sends a market order that trades against what is already there. The maker provides liquidity; the taker removes it. On most exchanges the taker pays a higher fee for the privilege of not waiting.
What does absorption mean in trading?
Absorption is when aggressive orders keep hitting a price level and the resting size keeps being replenished, so price does not move. It suggests one participant is willing to keep filling at that price. It is the opposite of a breakout, and it often precedes a turn.
Can you see takers and makers on a chart?
Not on a candlestick chart. You need the order book for the maker side and the trade tape for the taker side, drawn on the same time axis. Then absorption and breakthrough are visible directly rather than inferred afterwards.