Volume Profile
A horizontal histogram of volume traded at each price over a period: it reveals value areas and gaps.
Volume Profile stacks volume by price level instead of by time. Heavily traded prices form nodes (magnets), thinly traded prices form gaps (crossed fast). POC and value area derive straight from it.
In depth
Volume profile flips the usual perspective: instead of stacking volume by time (like a classic histogram at the bottom of the chart), it stacks it by price, as a horizontal histogram. At a glance you see which prices the market fought over most (the nodes) and which it passed through without lingering (the gaps).
From this profile come the key value-reading references: the POC (the volume peak), the value area (VAH/VAL, where ~70% of volume traded) and the low-volume gaps (LVN) price crosses fast. It's a map of the market's memory: where there's volume, there's acceptance, hence attraction.
On DeepCharts, show the profile for the session and prior days. Use nodes as targets and reaction references, and gaps as fast-transit zones: price leaving a node often crosses an LVN in one go to the next node.
Price leaves a high-volume node and rips through a gap to the next node.
Confusing volume profile with market profile (TPO), or reading the profile as a mere support indicator. The profile describes where value was built; it's structural context, not a mechanical entry signal.
Frequently asked
Volume profile vs footprint: what's the difference?
The footprint details buy/sell volume inside each candle. The volume profile aggregates total volume by price over a whole period: one is granular per candle, the other synthetic per level.
What is a volume node (HVN)?
A High Volume Node is a price (or zone) where many contracts traded: a magnet that tends to hold price. Conversely, a Low Volume Node (LVN) is a gap crossed quickly.
What period should a profile cover?
Depends on the goal: session profile for intraday, last-days or -weeks profile for swing references. The two combine usefully.
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