The ladder
A depth-of-market window is a ladder of prices: resting bids stacked below the current price, resting asks above it, with the size waiting at each level. The best bid and ask sit in the middle. In equities the same view is called Level 2 (Level 1 is just the best bid and ask); in futures and crypto it is the DOM. It is the closest thing to seeing the market’s intentions before they trade.
What you read in it
DOM traders watch for walls (unusually large resting size that may halt price), thinness (gaps in the ladder where price can move fast), and stacking and pulling (size being added or yanked as price approaches). The ladder is where displayed liquidity lives — and where the games get played.
Resting size is an intention, not a commitment. A large order can be placed to scare price and pulled before it ever trades — spoofing. So a wall on the DOM is a hypothesis, not a guarantee. Always confirm displayed liquidity against what actually executes on the tape.
vyx does not show a per-symbol ladder. It reads the full order-book depth — ten buckets, l1 through l10 — collapses it into imbalance, and paints that book pressure across 300+ Hyperliquid markets at once. Think of it as the DOM compressed into a scannable field: instead of one ladder, the pressure of the whole venue.
- 1 Price approaches a level where the ask stack is thinning as offers get pulled.
- 2 Aggressive buyers lift what little is left — there is no wall to stop them.
- 3 Price jumps through the gap to the next cluster of resting liquidity.
Further reading
Related
FAQ
What is the difference between depth of market and Level 2?
They describe the same thing — the order-book ladder of resting orders beyond the best bid and ask. "Level 2" is the equities term; "depth of market" or "DOM" is the futures and crypto term. Both show where liquidity is waiting above and below price.
What is DOM trading?
DOM trading means trading directly off the order-book ladder — reading resting size, absorption, and orders being pulled to time entries and exits. It is a short-horizon, execution-focused style that lives in the book rather than on the chart.
Can the order book (DOM) be faked?
Yes. Resting orders can be spoofed — placed to create a false impression of supply or demand, then pulled before they trade. That is why displayed liquidity should always be confirmed against executed flow on the tape.
See it on the live map
Scan order-book pressure across 300+ Hyperliquid markets in real time.
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