Volume VSA

What is Volume Spread Analysis?

Volume Spread Analysis, or VSA, grew out of the work of Richard Wyckoff, a stock market operator in the early 1900s. His observation was simple: large players can hide their intentions in price, but they cannot hide the volume it takes to buy or sell in size.

In the 1990s Tom Williams, a former syndicate trader who had studied Wyckoff's course, turned those ideas into a bar-by-bar method and built it into software. He laid it out in Master the Markets. VSA reads every bar through three things: its volume, its spread (the distance from high to low) and where it closes within that range.

Effort. A bar on far more volume than usual. Something big happened here, and the price action around it tells you who won.

No interest. A bar on far less volume than usual. A move without participation rarely lasts.

The heart of VSA is effort versus result. Volume is the effort, the price move is the result. When heavy volume produces almost no movement, someone is absorbing the other side. When price moves on almost no volume, nobody is really behind it.

Why volume is hard to read by hand

Raw volume means little on its own. Two million dollars is a quiet hour for Bitcoin and a wild one for a small cap, so every pair needs its own yardstick. On a chart that means eyeballing each histogram against a moving average, pair by pair and timeframe by timeframe.

Climaxes do not wait for you either. They happen at any hour, on any of hundreds of pairs, and most traders only notice the volume spike once the move it started is already over.

What Volume VSA adds

Volume VSA does the measuring for you and turns every bar into a grade you can scan, alert on and combine.

• Each pair against itself. Every bar is compared with a smoothed average of that pair's own recent volume, so a small cap and Bitcoin are graded on the same scale.
• Six clear levels. Very Low, Low, Normal, High, Very High and Ultra High. The bands do not overlap, so every closed bar gets exactly one.
• One signal for "real volume". High Volume or above fires on any of the three upper bands, so you do not have to list them one by one.
• Every timeframe, every pair. All ten timeframes from 15M to 3M, across Binance spot and futures, including the multi-day and multi-week charts.
• Signals on the closed bar. A grade is reported once the bar has closed, so a spike that fades before the close never reaches you.
• Built to be combined. This method grades volume. The spread and the close come from candle shapes, and the levels from Sequencer. Together they give you the full VSA read in one scan.

7 volume signals in three bands

Each signal fires on its own and runs on all ten timeframes. Open one to see how traders read it and to set an alert.

Build the classic VSA bars

Williams gave names to the bars that matter most. Each one is a volume grade plus a bar shape in the right place, so in Moolish each one is a combination you can scan for.

Stopping volume

Heavy volume on a down bar that closes well off its low, after a decline. Buyers absorbed the selling.

No demand

A narrow up bar on light volume inside a downtrend. Nobody is willing to pay higher prices.

No supply

A narrow down bar on the lightest volume, near support. Sellers have stepped away.

Upthrust

Price pushes above resistance on strong volume, then closes near the low of the bar. A trap for breakout buyers.

Effort without result

Several bars of heavy volume that barely move price. Someone is absorbing the other side. Draw it as your own Candle: three Spinning Top bars in a row, each on High Volume or above.

Save any of these as your own Candle and reuse it in scans and alerts.

Scan it together with Sequencer and candle patterns

Volume tells you how much effort went into a bar. It does not tell you where the market is in its cycle or what the bar looks like. Add both in Scan Events, on the same bar or across timeframes.

Sequencer 9-13

TD Sequential setups, countdowns and the support and resistance they leave behind. The timing that tells you when a volume extreme matters most.

Candle patterns, preset or your own

The spread and the close that VSA reads alongside volume. Start from 45 shapes such as a Hammer or Shooting Star, or draw your own.

Ready-made Candles

System Candles that already join a level, a bar shape and volume on one candle. Use one as it is, or duplicate it and adjust.

One scan, start to finish

Touch Support The daily is testing a level.

Very Low Volume on a down bar No supply left at the level.

Bullish Engulfing with High Volume or above Demand steps in, with effort.

Start in three steps

1. Subscribe. It is free. All 7 volume grades start running for you on every pair right away.
2. Choose what reaches you. Alert on the bands and timeframes you care about, on Telegram or a webhook.
3. Combine. Add a bar shape or a Sequencer signal in Scan Events to turn a volume grade into a full VSA read.

FAQ

What is the difference between VSA and just looking at volume?

Plain volume is a number. VSA judges it against the pair's normal activity and reads it together with the bar's spread and close, to tell real buying or selling from moves nobody is behind.

Does Volume VSA read the spread and the close too?

This method grades volume. You add the spread and the close with a candle pattern, preset or your own, and the location with Sequencer levels. Scan Events checks them all on the same bar.

Why compare each pair with its own average?

Volume differs enormously between pairs. Measuring each one against itself is the only way a grade like "Very High" means the same thing on Bitcoin and on a small cap.

What does High Volume or above add?

The six bands do not overlap. High Volume or above fires on any of the top three, so one signal catches every bar with real volume.

Which markets and timeframes does it cover?

Binance spot and futures pairs, on 15M, 4H, 1D, 2D, 3D, 1W, 2W, 3W, 1M and 3M. Every signal runs on all ten.

How much does it cost?

Subscribing is free. You need a free Moolish account. Alerts reach Telegram or a webhook seconds after the bar closes.