{"slug":"absorption","term":"Absorption","category":"Market Structure","definition":"Absorption is when large passive limit orders soak up aggressive market orders without price moving — heavy selling hits a level and it holds. It shows on the tape as high volume with no progress, or as CVD falling while price stays flat. Absorption often marks where big players are quietly building or defending positions.","street":"When the whole tape sells into a level and it won't drop, somebody big is standing there catching every coin.","depth":["Watch a level where price keeps hammering but won't break: sell market orders pour in, delta prints deeply negative, yet the bid refreshes and holds. That's a passive player reloading — often an iceberg order showing 5 BTC while hiding 500. Footprint charts show it as fat volume at one price with no follow-through; on CVD it's a steep slope while price goes sideways.","Absorption is a strong tell but a slow one — the absorber can step away at any moment, and all that trapped aggression then breaks the level violently. Trade the reaction, not the prediction: wait for price to move away from the absorbed level before leaning on it, and set your invalidation just beyond it. If the level gives way after heavy absorption, don't fade the break — the defender retreating is information too."],"live":{"label":"Watch for size hitting the tape →","href":"/tools/whale-alert"},"related":["cvd","market-depth","accumulation","distribution"]}