Order Book
An order book is a list of all buy and sell orders for an asset, organized by price level. It shows market depth and where supply and demand exist.
Understanding the Concept
The orderbook is a window into market psychology. Bids (buy orders) stack below current price. Asks (sell orders) stack above. The gap between highest bid and lowest ask is the spread.
Traders read orderbooks for insight. Large orders at specific levels suggest support or resistance. Thin orderbooks mean slippage risk. Imbalanced books (heavy bids, light asks) might predict upward moves.
Orderbooks change constantly as orders get placed, filled, and cancelled. Real-time orderbook data shows this dance. Historical orderbook data (snapshots or reconstructions) helps analyze past market structure.
Real-World Example
BTC orderbook shows: Bids: 100 BTC at $49,900, 250 BTC at $49,800, 500 BTC at $49,500. Asks: 50 BTC at $50,000, 150 BTC at $50,100. This tells you there's strong buying interest below $49,900 and less resistance above $50,000.
How PRISM Handles This
PRISM streams orderbook updates in real-time via WebSocket. Get full book snapshots or incremental updates. We aggregate orderbooks across exchanges for total market depth or filter by venue. Configurable depth limits to control data volume.
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