See what's happening inside every candle. The Footprint Chart breaks each 5-minute bar into individual price levels, showing how much volume traded on the bid side (sellers) versus the ask side (buyers). The delta reveals where institutional money is genuinely active � not just where price moved.
A standard candlestick shows you what happened (open, high, low, close) but not why. A footprint chart adds the missing layer: at each price tick inside the bar, it shows how much volume was transacted on the bid (sellers hitting the bid) vs the ask (buyers lifting the offer).
Delta = Ask Volume - Bid Volume. A large positive delta on a bar means buyers were aggressively purchasing at every level � regardless of whether the candle body looks bullish or bearish. A large negative delta on a green candle is a warning: price went up but sellers were in control inside the bar.
| Time | Price | Bid Vol | Ask Vol | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10:45 | $293.00 | 1,240 | 3,810 | +2,570 |
| 10:45 | $292.90 | 980 | 2,640 | +1,660 |
| 10:45 | $292.80 | 3,120 | 4,990 | +1,870 |
| 10:40 | $292.50 | 5,400 | 2,100 | -3,300 |
| 10:40 | $292.40 | 4,800 | 1,980 | -2,820 |
| 10:40 | $292.30 ★ | 6,210 | 8,900 | +2,690 |
The most powerful footprint signal is delta divergence � when the candle direction and the delta direction disagree. This reveals hidden institutional positioning that the raw price bar conceals.
| Candle | Delta | Signal |
|---|---|---|
| Bullish 🟢 | Positive + | Strong Buy |
| Bullish 🟢 | Negative - | Trap / Sell |
| Bearish 🔴 | Negative - | Strong Sell |
| Bearish 🔴 | Positive + | Trap / Buy |