#Liquidity101

💧 Liquidity 101: my short checklist for professionals

When you are no longer a beginner, "24h volume" says little. Here are 5 things that really determine whether your position will survive the storm of volatility:

1. Depth > Volume

Look at how much can be bought/sold within ± 0.5% of the price. If the order book is empty for 1 BTC — that’s not liquidity, but a facade.

2. Realtime Gaps

Scroll the order book 1–2% deeper. Empty "steps" = future chaotic candles when market makers push the price against you.

3. Your and others' market makers

On CEX, liquidity is "team-based": the exchange feeds MM’s with rebates. On DEX, you observe a pure AMM pool: the narrower the range, the cheaper the swap — until the whales dump.

4. On-chain Pulse

Quick check: TVL chart, number of active LP addresses, and net inflow of the token. If TVL is dropping, the spread will widen before your stop appears.

5. Slippage Calculator

Before entering, calculate how much % the price will move on your expected volume. If it exceeds max-loss — look for another market, not a bigger luck.

Bottom line: liquidity is your insurance policy. Read it as you would read the asset balance of your opponent: whoever has more bullets dictates the rules.