Glossary

Key trading terms used across the DCT Alpha platform.

C

CVD (Cumulative Volume Delta)

The running total of the difference between buying and selling volume. Rising CVD means buyers are dominating; falling CVD means sellers are in control. CVD divergences from price often signal reversals.

D

Delta

The difference between aggressive buying volume and aggressive selling volume in a given period. Positive delta means more market buys; negative delta means more market sells.

E

EMA (Exponential Moving Average)

A moving average that gives more weight to recent prices, making it more responsive to new data than a Simple Moving Average (SMA). Common periods: 9, 21, 50, 200.

F

Funding Rate

A periodic payment between long and short traders in perpetual futures contracts. Positive funding means longs pay shorts (market is bullish/overleveraged long). Negative funding means shorts pay longs.

L

Liquidation

The forced closing of a leveraged position when the trader’s margin falls below the maintenance requirement. Large liquidation clusters often cause cascading price moves.

M

Market Depth

The total volume of buy and sell orders at different price levels in the order book. Deep markets have large orders at many levels; thin markets have few orders and are more volatile.

O

OI (Open Interest)

The total number of outstanding derivative contracts (futures or options) that have not been settled. Rising OI with rising price suggests new money entering the market. Falling OI suggests positions are closing.

Order Flow

The analysis of actual executed trades (market orders hitting the order book) rather than just price action. Order flow reveals the intent behind price moves.

R

RSI (Relative Strength Index)

A momentum oscillator that measures the speed and magnitude of price changes on a scale of 0 to 100. Readings above 70 suggest overbought conditions; below 30 suggest oversold.

V

Volume Profile

A chart overlay that shows the total volume traded at each price level over a given period. High-volume nodes (HVN) act as areas of acceptance; low-volume nodes (LVN) act as areas of rejection.

VWAP (Volume-Weighted Average Price)

The average price of an asset weighted by volume. Institutional traders often use VWAP as a benchmark for the “fair price” of an asset during a session.

W

Whale

A market participant holding or trading unusually large positions. Whale activity can move markets and is tracked through tools like Whale Delta and Whale Radar on DCT Alpha.