How Crypto Sonar works Methodology

Data source

Live 3-minute candles and trades of every USDT-M perpetual from the exchange's public futures stream.

Update frequency

Continuously; an alert goes out within seconds of the move.

Calculation

The current price is compared with the close of the last 3-minute candle. The alert adds the volume of the last minute against the average minute of the previous 14, and a move that had no volume before it is labelled separately («no volume before the move»).

Threshold

+6% for a pump, −8% for a dump.

Limitations

A 3-minute window catches sharp moves, not slow trends. On thin coins a small amount of money can move the price that far — the volume line shows how much was behind the move. An alert says the price has moved, not that it will keep moving.

Learn the basics: pumps and dumps in crypto →

Data source

Live price streams of every USDT-M perpetual; no spot market.

Update frequency

Every coin is re-scored continuously as prices update.

Calculation

A score from 0 to 100 that combines price momentum, volume, liquidity, trade activity and acceleration. Entry, two targets and a stop are fixed at publication, and the same trade is followed on a paper account to TP1, TP2, the stop or the time limit, with fees. Every evaluated signal, posted or not, is measured and stored to train and check the model.

Threshold

Score 70 or more. TP1 +1%, TP2 +2%, stop 3–3.5% depending on volatility; at most 10 open trades at once and 3 per coin a day.

Limitations

Results are those of a paper account: no real orders are placed. The model is still being measured, and past results do not predict future ones. Not financial advice.

Data source

15-minute candles of USDT-M perpetuals with at least $20M of daily volume, plus the alerts of the other scanners.

Update frequency

After every 15-minute candle; confirmations from other scanners are added for 15 minutes after publication.

Calculation

A candle has to close above the 24-hour high with volume at least 1.5× its 20-candle average, or two different scanners have to point the same way on one coin within 15 minutes. Targets come from nearby price levels and the coin's hourly ATR, the stop sits beyond the level. A score of 0–10 weighs volume, open interest, whale trades, the BTC trend, distance from the level, trend and a squeeze before the move.

Threshold

Not published: risk/reward under 0.8, TP1 closer than 1%, a stop farther than 6%, or a coin already up more than 20% in 24 hours. A coin repeats no sooner than in 4 hours.

Limitations

Long setups only, published 08:00–14:00 UTC: in our backtests short setups and other hours did worse. Targets and stop never change after publication, and the result after 4 hours is posted for every setup, losses included. Not financial advice.

Learn the basics: what is a breakout? →

Data source

5-minute candles of every USDT-M perpetual (the same live stream as the Volume Scanner).

Update frequency

After every 5-minute candle closes.

Calculation

The range of the closed candle (high − low, in % of the price) is compared with the average range of the previous 20 candles; the post adds the direction and the move of the candle.

Threshold

A range of at least 3% and at least 4× the average. At most the 10 strongest spikes of one candle; a coin repeats no sooner than in 30 minutes.

Limitations

A wide candle shows that something happened, not where the price goes next. When the whole market moves at once, the weaker spikes of that candle are left out.

Learn the basics: what are volatility spikes? →

Data source

Every trade of every USDT-M perpetual from the exchange's public trade stream.

Update frequency

Real time; a burst on one coin is collected for up to 2 minutes into one message.

Calculation

Fills of one order at several prices are added up into one trade; the side is the side of the order that hit the book — buy or sell. A group shows the total, buys against sells and the dominant side.

Threshold

$1,000,000 per trade; $5,000,000 on BTC and ETH. Stablecoins are filtered out.

Limitations

We see trades, not traders: a player who splits an order into many small ones below the threshold stays unseen, and a large trade does not tell why it was made.

Learn the basics: what are whale trades? →

Data source

5-minute candles of every USDT-M perpetual from the exchange's live candle stream.

Update frequency

After every 5-minute candle closes.

Calculation

The volume of the closed candle is compared with the average of the previous 40 candles, together with the price change in the same candle.

Threshold

At least 40% above the average, at least $600,000 traded in the candle and a price move of 1% or more. At most the 15 strongest spikes of one candle; a coin repeats no sooner than in 15 minutes.

Limitations

A spike shows that unusual money traded, not which side was stronger. A coin with a short history (a new listing) has a less reliable average.

Learn the basics: what are volume spikes? →

Data source

The 20 best levels of each side of the order book, updated every 500 ms, for the 50 most traded USDT-M perpetuals plus BTC and ETH; the list is refreshed every 15 minutes.

Update frequency

Real time; a wall is posted once it has held for 30 seconds.

Calculation

Each price level within 1% of the price is compared with the median of the 20 levels on its side. The post adds the bid/ask balance of the book within ±1%.

Threshold

$250,000 or more ($5,000,000 on BTC and ETH), at least 5× the median level, held at the same price for 30 seconds. One alert per coin and side in 30 minutes.

Limitations

A limit order can be cancelled at any moment: a wall is an intention, not a trade. Only the 20 nearest levels and only the most traded coins are watched.

Learn the basics: what are order book walls? →

Data source

Open interest of USDT-M perpetuals from the exchange's public futures API.

Update frequency

Every minute on actively traded coins, every 5 minutes on the rest.

Calculation

The change of open interest over 15 minutes, read together with the price change: OI up and price up — new longs; OI up and price down — new shorts; OI down and price up — shorts closing; OI down and price down — longs closing.

Threshold

±5% within 15 minutes, for coins with at least $1M of open interest. A coin repeats no sooner than in 30 minutes.

Limitations

The reading is the usual rule of thumb: open interest itself does not show who opened or closed. Coins checked every 5 minutes are seen a few minutes later.

Learn the basics: what is open interest? →

Data source

Current funding rates, payment intervals and past payments of every USDT-M perpetual from the public futures API; open interest and long/short shares for context.

Update frequency

Every minute; past payments are refreshed every 30 minutes; a top list every 4 hours.

Calculation

Each rate is converted to 8 hours, so that coins paying every 1, 4 or 8 hours compare fairly. Events: an extreme rate, a flip from positive to negative or back, a jump since the last payment, and funding that goes against the price move of the last hour.

Threshold

±0.1% per 8h for an extreme; 0.05 percentage points for a spike; a flip with both values at least 0.01%; a divergence against a 3% price move within an hour. A coin repeats no sooner than in 4 hours and only with something new.

Limitations

Funding shows which side is crowded, not when the crowd will be wrong — extreme funding can last for days. The current rate keeps changing until the payment.

Learn the basics: what is the funding rate? →

Data source

The exchange's long/short ratio of all accounts and of top traders (5-minute data) for the 100 most traded USDT-M perpetuals plus BTC and ETH.

Update frequency

Every 5 minutes.

Calculation

The share of accounts long and short now and 30 minutes ago and the change of the ratio, read with the price over 30 minutes, open interest over the hour and the current funding.

Threshold

75% or more of accounts long, 65% or more short, the ratio changing by 10% or more in 30 minutes, or positions building against a 1.5% price move. A coin repeats no sooner than in 4 hours.

Limitations

The ratio counts accounts, not money: many small accounts can be long while a few large ones are short — that is why the top traders' positioning is shown next to it. Only the 100 most traded coins are covered.

Learn the basics: what is the long/short ratio? →

Data source

The exchange's public liquidation stream for USDT-M futures.

Update frequency

Real time; liquidations of one coin within 2 minutes are posted as one message.

Calculation

A forced sell closes a long, a forced buy closes a short. A group shows the total, longs against shorts, the dominant side and the price range.

Threshold

$75,000 per liquidation; $2,500,000 on BTC and ETH.

Limitations

The public stream reports at most one liquidation per contract per second, so in a cascade the real total is higher than what we see.

Learn the basics: what are crypto liquidations? →

Data source

The exchange's official lists of futures contracts and spot pairs (public API) — no announcement pages, no rumours.

Update frequency

Every 5 minutes, plus an extra check right at a contract's start time; delistings every hour.

Calculation

A contract or coin that appears in the list for the first time: «Coming Soon» while its start time is in the future, «Trading Now» with the first price. A new pair of a coin that is already listed is not a listing. A delisting is posted when a contract gets a removal date and again when trading stops; a spot coin when none of its pairs trades anymore.

Threshold

Every new USDT-M perpetual (crypto and TradFi: stocks, commodities), every new spot coin, every delisting.

Limitations

We post from the moment a listing appears in the exchange's API; an announcement on the exchange's website can come earlier.