What is volume profile, and how do you use it on a crypto chart?
Volume profile is a histogram that shows how much trading happened at each price level, instead of at each moment in time. The longest bar is the point of control, the price with the most volume. Traders watch these levels as possible support and resistance. You can add it to a TradingTwo chart.
What it shows
The volume bars at the bottom of a chart answer "how much traded in this candle?" Volume profile turns the question on its side: "how much traded at this price?" Horizontal bars sit against the price axis. A long bar means a lot of trading at that price. A short bar means little.
StockCharts describes the same idea as a tool that shows trading volume "for a particular price range", and notes that price zones with heavy volume reflect elevated interest that can influence future supply or demand.
The words you will meet
- Point of control (POC). The price level with the most volume in the profile.
- Value area. The band of prices around the point of control that holds a set share of all volume. The usual share is 70%, and it is 70% by default in TradingTwo. You can change it.
- High-volume node. A price with a lot of volume. Price often pauses or reacts there.
- Low-volume node. A price with little volume. Price often moves through it quickly.
How to use it, step by step
- Open a chart and pick the timeframe you trade on.
- Add the Visible Range Volume Profile from the indicators list. It measures the candles on screen, so it changes as you scroll and zoom. You can change the number of rows, the width and the value area.
- Note the point of control and the edges of the value area.
- To measure one move only, such as a breakout and the rally after it, use the Fixed Range Volume Profile drawing tool and drag it across that swing.
- Watch how price behaves when it returns to those levels. A level that held before is a place to look again. It is never a guarantee.
Volume candles are a related view. Each candle's width follows its volume, so a thick candle shows heavy trading. Pick Volume candles from the chart type menu.
Time price opportunity (TPO) profile counts time instead of volume. For each price row it counts how many 30-minute periods traded there, and the row with the most periods is its point of control. It is also called a Market Profile.
Draw a profile over a range you choose
The Visible Range Volume Profile indicator reads the candles on your screen. The drawing tools hold two more: Fixed Range Volume Profile, where you mark the start and end yourself, and Anchored VWAP, an average price weighted by volume and counted from a point you pick. Open them from the Measurements group in the drawing toolbar.
Where it works
A volume profile needs volume in the candles. Hyperliquid perpetuals and DEX pools carry it. Spot candles for the top 1,000 coins come without volume from our data source, so a volume profile on those Markets would be empty, and we do not invent numbers to fill it. For a spot coin that has a Hyperliquid perpetual, chart the perpetual.
Volume profile shows where trading happened. It does not tell you who was buying and who was selling, and it does not predict price.
Definition wording: StockCharts ChartSchool, "Volume-by-Price", read 24 October 2026.
Questions
What is the point of control?
The price level where the most volume traded within the range the profile measures.
What is the difference between volume and volume profile?
Volume is shown per candle, so it answers when. Volume profile is shown per price, so it answers where.
Does TradingTwo have a fixed range volume profile?
Yes, as a drawing tool you drag across any range. It also has the Visible Range Volume Profile as an indicator.
Is volume profile free?
It is included in the one plan, with a 7-day trial and no card.