MAINNEAT

How to read an order book and liquidity heatmap

Compare visible resting liquidity with the trades actually executed at each price.

By Mainneat / Reviewed / Independent documentation

What does the order book show?

Visible resting bids and asks at the price levels supplied by the public L2 feed. The best bid is the highest displayed buy price; the best ask is the lowest displayed sell price. Their difference is the spread.

What can I trade in the terminal?

The Indices workspace focuses on eleven crypto baskets of native perpetuals. Inspect constituent weights, charts and funding before reviewing the basket order. Individual-market order books, quote changes and heatmaps are not currently exposed in this workspace.

What does brighter yellow mean?

More resting quantity relative to other observed levels in the heatmap window. The intensity scale adapts to the displayed data. A bright level on one asset is not a directly comparable dollar amount on another asset.

What do the colored dots show?

Received executions positioned by time and price. Green dots are taker buys; red dots are taker sells. Dot size grows with executed quantity, with a visual cap so a large fill does not hide the entire chart.

Why is the heatmap empty when I arrive?

Book history starts with the snapshots received while this market is open. The view retains a bounded five-minute window. Subscription replay may provide recent trades, but it cannot provide the missing historical book.

Does a disappearing wall prove spoofing?

No. Snapshot changes alone cannot establish intent or distinguish every cancellation from an execution. Missing depth, connection gaps and price levels leaving the observed range also matter. Blank areas mean unobserved data.

Is this the complete order book?

No. The public L2 view is limited to the levels supplied by the API, up to 20 per side here. Liquidity beyond that range is unknown. The chart is a reading aid, not a guaranteed executable price quote.

Sources and methodology

Protocol details refer to the official sources below. Terminal behavior describes this site's implementation and its stated coverage limits. Examples are illustrative.

Open the related terminal view

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