Relative Volume at Time (RVOL) on Bitcoin

What it shows

Columns in their own pane, one per candle. A column is green when the ratio is above 1 and red at 1 or below. A grey level line marks 1. There is nothing for the first Length periods of the chart, because the average needs that many earlier periods.

How Pravex works it out

1. The chart is cut into periods by the reset period (1 day by default). Fixed lengths from 1 minute to 12 hours are counted from the start of the Unix epoch, and 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months and 12 months follow the calendar in UTC.
2. Each candle gets its time into the period (its offset from the first candle of the period). In Cumulative mode its volume so far is the sum of every candle in the period up to and including this one.
3. For the same offset in each of the previous Length periods, Pravex finds the last candle at or before that offset and takes its volume so far. Averaging those gives the usual volume at this time.
4. Relative volume = volume so far now ÷ the average of the same moment in the last Length periods. Where the average is zero there is no reading.
5. In Regular mode, the comparison is one candle against one candle: this candle’s own volume divided by the average volume of the candles at exactly the same time offset in earlier periods. A period with no candle at that offset counts as zero in the average.

Settings

Setting	Default	What changing it does
Reset period	1 day	The period whose start resets the count. With 1 day, each UTC day is compared with the previous days. Shorter periods compare hours, longer ones compare weeks or months.
Length	10	How many earlier periods go into the average. A longer length gives a steadier baseline that reacts slowly to a change in normal activity. The largest allowed is 5000.
Compare as	Cumulative	Cumulative compares the total volume so far in the period. Regular compares just this candle with the same candle in earlier periods, which is noisier.
Scale the forming candle	on	For the candle still forming, the matching past candle’s volume is scaled by the share of the candle that has elapsed, so a half-finished candle is compared with half a candle of history and not with the whole.

How traders read it

Relative volume is a way to see whether a move has unusual participation. A breakout on a reading of 2 or more is backed by far more activity than normal for that time of day, which is exactly what relative volume is there to show. The same breakout on a reading well under 1 had little activity behind it.

An example with invented numbers: at 12:00 UTC the volume so far today is 6,000. On the last ten days at 12:00 UTC it averaged 4,000. Relative volume is 6,000 ÷ 4,000 = 1.5, a green column: today is running 50 percent busier than usual. Since the comparison is time for time, it avoids the usual mistake of calling a morning quiet just because it is smaller than a full day.

When it misleads

In Cumulative mode the ratio gets steadier as the day goes on, because the total grows and one candle matters less, so early readings swing more. A single large trade can lift it for the rest of the period. If the market is closed or has gaps, a period with no candle at that time contributes less to the average. The columns only exist after Length full periods of history, so a short chart may show none. And it is volume of one venue, here Hyperliquid, not the whole market.

Questions and answers

What does a relative volume of 2 mean?

That the volume so far is twice the average for this time of the period. A reading of 1 is the normal pace.

What is the difference between Cumulative and Regular?

Cumulative compares the total volume since the period began. Regular compares a single candle with the same candle in earlier periods.

Why is there nothing at the start of my chart?

The average needs Length earlier periods. With the defaults, the first ten days of the chart show no columns.

Which reset period should I use?

1 day compares today with earlier days at the same time, and suits intraday charts. A shorter period compares hours, and 1 week compares the week so far with earlier weeks.

Related: 24-hour Volume, Net Volume, Up/Down Volume, Volume Weighted Average Price, every indicator.