Definition
Volume is a trading metric that measures how many units of a cryptocurrency, or how much of a trading pair, have been bought and sold in a given time frame. It is usually expressed as the number of coins or tokens traded, or as the total value of those trades in a reference currency like USD. Volume can be calculated for different periods, such as hourly, daily, or weekly, depending on how the market activity is being observed.
In crypto markets, volume is typically reported by exchanges for each trading pair, such as BTC/USDT or ETH/USD. It reflects the overall level of trading activity and shows how actively a particular asset is being exchanged. High or low volume does not by itself indicate price direction, but it describes how much trading is occurring around current prices.
Context and Usage
Volume is a core concept in market data and appears alongside price, market capitalization, and other basic trading statistics. It is commonly displayed on price charts as bars beneath the main price graph, with each bar representing the volume for that specific time interval. Exchanges and data providers may also show 24-hour volume to summarize recent trading activity.
Because it captures how much an asset is changing hands, volume is often used as a general indicator of market interest and participation. In both centralized and decentralized crypto markets, reported volume can vary by platform due to differences in trading activity and how trades are counted. Regardless of venue, the concept of volume remains the same: it quantifies the total traded amount over a chosen period.