What is Spread?
Spread subtracts another market's closing price from this market's, bar by bar, and plots the difference in its own pane with a dashed zero line. It is in price units, so it is most useful between instruments that should trade at about the same price, such as the same coin quoted in two stablecoins, or a perpetual against its spot market. By default the second market is ETH/USDT.
It does not normalise for price. Between markets at very different prices, such as BTC and ETH, the spread is mostly the higher price with a small wobble and says little about relative performance.
How to use Spread
- Above zero. This market is trading higher than the other.
- Below zero. This market is trading lower than the other.
- Widening and narrowing. Between two quotes of the same asset, a spread moving away from its usual level shows one side has become relatively expensive or cheap.
- Choosing the pair. Pick a comparison market priced like this one. For markets at different prices, use Ratio.
A spread that has widened is not guaranteed to narrow again.
Settings
| Setting | Default | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Symbol | ETH/USDT | The market to subtract. It must trade on the same exchange as the chart. If it cannot be found, the line stays empty rather than showing a wrong value. |
Change the comparison market in the indicator settings. Both markets are compared on their closing prices.
Calculation
Each bar:
Spread = this market's close - other market's closeBoth closes are for the same bar on the chart's timeframe. Where the other market has no bar, its previous close is used. There is no smoothing and no warm-up.
The result is in the chart's quote currency. A dashed line marks zero, where the two closes are equal.
Limitations
- Only meaningful between similarly priced markets. Between BTC and ETH, the default pairing on a BTC chart, the spread mostly tracks BTC's own price.
- Same exchange only. The comparison market must be listed on the chart's exchange.
- Closes only. It compares bar closes, so brief divergences within a bar do not show.
- The live candle moves. The current bar's value changes until that bar closes.
Frequently asked questions
It shows this market's close minus another market's close on each bar, in price units. Above zero, this market is trading higher; below zero, lower.
Use Spread between instruments that should trade at about the same price, such as a coin against the same coin in another quote currency, or a perpetual against its spot market. For markets at different prices, [Ratio](/library/indicator/ratio) is the better measure of relative performance.
Yes. The indicator declares one input: Symbol, default ETH/USDT. Enter any market that trades on the same exchange as the chart. Open the indicator's settings on the chart to change it.
Values on bars that have already closed are not revised. The current bar's value moves while either market's live candle is still open and settles when the bar closes.
Usually because the comparison market could not be found on the chart's exchange. Check the symbol is written as the exchange lists it and that it trades there.
Use the Add to chart button at the top of this page. It opens BTC/USDT on Binance in the Altrady Charts terminal with the built-in Spread already applied. On any other market, open the indicator picker on the chart and choose Spread from the Comparison group.