Volume spikes: what they mean
Updated 06.11.2026
Volume is how much was traded over a period of time. A volume spike means that in a few minutes the market traded several times more than usual: a large player has entered, news has come out, or stops and liquidations have been triggered. A spike often comes together with a price move or right before it.
How macry detects a volume spike
- The site takes the turnover in dollars over the last 5 minutes and compares it with the average 5-minute turnover over the previous 100 minutes.
- A volume spike is when the last 5 minutes are ×3 or more of the average.
- Coins with less than $5M of daily turnover are skipped: on a thin market a single trade can make a “spike”.
- After a signal the pair stays quiet for 30 minutes.
Three typical cases
- Breakout. Volume jumps together with the price leaving a range or breaking a level. This is the classic confirmation: the move is backed by real trading, not by a few thin orders.
- Absorption. Volume is huge, but the price barely moves. Somebody with large limit orders is absorbing market orders — usually at a strong level. If the level holds, the price often turns away from it; if it breaks, the move afterwards is sharp.
- Climax. A spike at the end of a long move, often with a long wick on the candle. Late buyers (or sellers) rush in, while those who were in the trade from the start take profit. Such a spike often marks exhaustion of the move.
How to check a volume spike
- Look at the candle. A long body in the direction of the move supports it; a long wick against it means the move was rejected.
- Look at open interest. Volume with rising OI means new positions; volume with falling OI means closing and liquidations. See the guide on open interest.
- Find the level. A spike at a strong level is about whether it holds or breaks.
- Compare with the market. If the whole market traded more at that moment (Bitcoin moved, news), the spike in one coin means less.
How macry scores a volume signal
Like open interest, volume has no direction of its own, so the result is measured in the direction of the price at the moment of the signal. A volume spike with a rising price worked if the price kept rising over the next 15 minutes, 1 hour and 4 hours.
Common mistakes
- Taking volume as a direction. Volume says that something is happening; price and open interest say what.
- Forgetting the time of day: volume is naturally higher when the European and American sessions open.
- Chasing every spike: in the minutes of a spike the spread widens and slippage grows.
Volume relative to the average for every coin — on the coin pages; spike notifications without delay — with Pro.