Anchored VWAP on a Live Chart

What it shows

The blue line is the VWAP from the anchor to the latest candle. The two green lines are the bands, one standard deviation of the prices paid above and below it. Before the anchor nothing is drawn.

How Pravex works it out

Pick the anchor. With Auto on candles shorter than a day it is the first candle of the current UTC day; on day candles, the month; up to 10 days, the quarter; longer, the year or the decade. Highest High, Lowest Low and Highest Volume take the last candle holding that extreme among the last Length candles.
From the anchor on, add up source × volume and volume, candle by candle. VWAP = the first sum ÷ the second.
For the bands, also add up source² × volume. The standard deviation is the square root of (that sum ÷ volume − VWAP²). Each band sits its multiplier times that distance from the VWAP, or a percentage of the VWAP in Percentage mode.

Settings

Setting	Default	What changing it does
Anchor Period	Auto	Where the VWAP starts: Auto, Highest High, Lowest Low, Highest Volume, Session, Week, Month, Year, Quarter, Decade or Century. Earnings, dividends and splits are listed but never happen on these markets, so they start at the first candle.
Source	hlc3	The price each candle adds, (high + low + close) ÷ 3 by default.
Length	20	Only for Highest High, Lowest Low and Highest Volume: how many recent candles are searched for the anchor.
Offset	0	Moves the lines that many candles right (or left when negative).
Bands Calculation Mode	Standard Deviation	Bands from the spread of the prices paid, or a fixed percentage of the VWAP.
Bands Multiplier #1	On, 1	The first pair of bands and how far out they sit. Pairs #2 (2) and #3 (3) are off by default.

How traders read it

Above the VWAP, the average buyer since the anchor is in profit; below it, the average buyer is under water. Traders anchor at a swing low or the start of a session to see who has been in control since then.

Price far outside the bands means it has run a long way from where most of the volume changed hands. Coming back to the VWAP after such a run is common, but not a rule.

When it misleads

The line only means what its anchor means. Right after the anchor there are few candles in it, so it jumps around; days later it barely moves. Volume is the exchange’s own, so the same VWAP on another venue will differ a little.

Questions and answers

What is the difference between VWAP and anchored VWAP?

A plain VWAP restarts every session. An anchored VWAP starts wherever you anchor it and keeps going until you move the anchor.

Why is this chart on Bitcoin and not gold?

VWAP weights each price by volume. Spot gold has no exchange volume, so the calculation would have nothing to weight. Bitcoin on Hyperliquid has real traded volume.

How do I anchor the VWAP on a candle I pick?

In the app, the drawing rail has Anchored VWAP under the measurement tools: pick it and click the candle. The indicator on this page picks its anchor by itself.