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Volume Tide

Ride only the crypto rallies volume backs

ChartArmory's own build of the On-Balance Volume (OBV) idea Joseph Granville popularized in 1963, tuned for daily crypto charts. It tells you just two things: ▲ RIDE (hold) or ▼ OUT (cash).

$99.60One-time payment · Perpetual personal use

Add to my chart

What the one-time payment includes (yours to keep)

Full Pine Script v6 source code
8-language guide panel and install guide
Personal use and modification (no redistribution or resale)
30 days of bug-fix support after purchase
Copy button and TXT right after payment

Delivery and refund policy ↗

Signals and the distance to the next one, right on the chart · TradingView · BINANCE:ETHUSDT · 1D · 2020.10 → 2021.06 · Volume Tide defaults

VOLUME TIDE / HISTORICAL CASE

Ethereum: bought at $568, sold 73 days later at $1,578

ETH-USDT · 1D · 2020.12 → 2021.02+177.2%

Bought the day after volume and price both rose above their lines, sold the day after one of them broke. It didn't catch the top, but it took the body of the rally.

Time held: 73 days
Price multiple: 2.78×

▲ RIDE was confirmed on the December 12, 2020 close, and it bought at the next open, $568.09. ▼ OUT was confirmed on the February 23, 2021 close, and it sold at the next open, $1,577.79. The highest close in between was $1,955 on February 19.

01 / ▲ RIDE buy2020.12.13$568.09▲ OBV > EMA 20 · close > SMA 50
02 / Highest close in between2021.02.19$1,955.00+244.1%
03 / ▼ OUT sell2021.02.24$1,577.79▼ OUT · +177.2%

This trade+177.2%2020.12.13 → 2021.02.24

ETH-USDT · 1W · 2020.06.05 → 2021.09.03

Hover the chart to read the date and priceRedrawn from the recorded trade’s closing prices. Average lines are recomputed as a visual guide.

Signal on the daily close, fill at the next open, 0.1% cost per buy and sell · a replay of the TradingView indicator's rule (Binance ETHUSDT daily; other exchanges' charts can differ slightly)

Download the record used for this (JSON) ↓

Same chart. One indicator makes the difference.

Drag the handle to compare the chart with and without Volume Tide.

Compare the ETH daily chart with and without Volume Tide · Before indicator — Calculated from historical data. Future returns are not guaranteed.ETHUSDT · 1D · 2020.10–2021.06Chart: TradingView

Compare the ETH daily chart with and without Volume Tide · After indicator — Calculated from historical data. Future returns are not guaranteed.ETHUSDT · 1D · 2020.10–2021.06Chart: TradingView

PROBLEM → FIX

Three things that make gut-feel crypto investing hard

ProblemYou hold through a crash hoping it will come back
FixWhen either price (50-day line) or volume (OBV vs its 20-day average) breaks, ▼ OUT moves you to cash so you don't take the full fall
ProblemYou can't tell a price-only bounce from a rally with real volume
Fix▲ RIDE comes only when the close is above the 50-day tide line and OBV is above its 20-day average, so you ride rallies volume is backing
ProblemYou stare at the chart all day not knowing when the conditions will line up
FixThe bottom-right panel shows the distance to the next signal and ✓/✗ for both conditions, and an alert fires when a signal comes

01 / WHAT IT DOES

Ride only the waves volume is pushing

A tide line and dots you read at a glance

The 50-day tide line turns teal while you hold and coral while you wait in cash, and blue dots under the bars show whether volume (OBV) is backing the move.

A next-signal guide like a navigation app

One bottom-right panel shows the distance to the next signal (e.g. +1.5% to buy), a 10-step progress bar, ✓/✗ for both conditions, where you are now and the last signal.

Daily-close signals that never repaint

▲ RIDE and ▼ OUT are set only on the daily close, so past signals never change later. 8-language panel and alerts for both signals.

02 / EVIDENCE

US$1,000 by start year: plain holding vs Volume Tide

Coin or cash only, no leverage, recorded through October 24, 2026.

Bitstamp BTCUSD and Binance ETHUSDT daily bars, filled at the next open after each signal, 0.1% cost per buy and sell. Past records do not guarantee future returns.
Start	Plain holding	Volume Tide	Worst drop (holding → Tide)
BTC 2015	$256,747257×	$462,601463×	−83.4%−51.2%32.2%pavoided
BTC 2018	$5,9936.0×	$25,99526.0×	−81.5%−51.2%30.3%pavoided
BTC 2020	$11,22311.2×	$15,99816.0×	−76.7%−51.2%25.5%pavoided
BTC 2022	$1,6861.7×	$2,4402.4×	−67.0%−45.2%21.8%pavoided
ETH 2018	$3,1403.1×	$21,35621.4×	−94.0%−50.1%43.9%pavoided
ETH 2022	$6300.6×	$1,4241.4×	−74.0%−43.9%30.1%pavoided

Volume differs between exchanges, so signals and results can differ slightly by chart (exchange).
The win rate is about 30%: it takes many small losses and earns on a few big rallies, trading 15–20 times a year.

Trading without the indicator

Hold without this indicator and you take the crash in full

Big crypto declines, plain holding vs following the Volume Tide rule (peak → low, 0.1% cost per buy and sell).

Without it−94.0%

With the indicator −20.2%

Ethereum Jan–Dec 2018 crash — plain holding −94.0%. ▼ OUT came 3 days after the top; the rule spent 91% of the decline in cash.

Without it−83.4%

With the indicator −22.3%

Bitcoin Dec 2017–Dec 2018 crash — plain holding −83.4%. ▼ OUT came 4 days after the top; the rule spent 85% of the decline in cash.

Without it−53.1%

With the indicator −22.6%

Bitcoin Oct 2025–Jun 2026 decline — plain holding −53.1%. ▼ OUT came 4 days after the top; the rule spent 75% of the decline in cash.

03 / INSTALL

Installed in 3 steps right after payment

No monthly subscription: one payment and the full Pine Script v6 source is yours to keep and modify.

01Press the copy button on the screen right after payment, or download the TXT
02Paste it into TradingView's Pine Editor, save, and add it to a daily crypto chart
03Pick the panel language and turn on ▲ RIDE · ▼ OUT alerts

Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Independent ChartArmory build of the public OBV idea popularized by Joseph Granville; not affiliated with or endorsed by Granville or his estate.

NO REPAINT · NO FUTURE DATA

3 reasons you can trust it

Past signals stay put
A signal on a closed bar never changes; only today’s unfinished bar can move.
No future data
Other symbols and higher timeframes use only data available at that moment, so no future values leak into past signals.
Open raw data
Past examples are calculated after trading costs (0.1% per side), and you can download the raw data as JSON.

Download raw JSON

INPUTS · PINE SCRIPT V6

Settings you can change

The exact names you see in TradingView’s settings (Inputs tab).8 languages supported

OBV average (EMA days)
Tide line (price average days)

A MORNING WITH VOLUME TIDE

A 5-minute daily routine

07:30
Check the tide line
A teal 50-day tide line means a holding phase, coral means cash. Blue dots under the bars tell you whether volume is backing the move.
07:32
Two checks and the distance
In the panel, look at ✓/✗ for the price and volume conditions and how many percent remain to the next signal.
07:35
Act only on confirmed days
Most days you just look and move on. Buy or sell the next day only when the daily close confirms ▲ RIDE or ▼ OUT.

WHO IT FITS

Who it fits — and who it doesn’t

Recommended for

Office workers who can’t watch charts all day
People who want to stick to set position sizes and stops
Anyone for whom one chart check a day is enough

Not a fit for

Scalpers trading by the second or minute
Anyone hunting for a 100%-accurate “magic arrow”
People who trade by gut feel rather than rules

BUILD VS BUY

What would it cost to build?

Hiring a developer usually costs $2,000–$5,000+ and weeks of building and testing. Here, one payment gets you tested Pine Script v6 source right away, yours to keep.

Outsourcing

$2,000–$5,000+ · weeks of building and testing

ChartArmory

One payment · tested source, instantly

PAIR RECIPE

Indicators that work well together

Volume TideKelly Meter

Let Volume Tide decide when to hold and when to wait in cash, and Kelly Meter how much to put in.

View indicator

Each indicator is sold separately; combined results have not been tested.

VOLUME TIDE / FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is OBV?

OBV (On-Balance Volume) is a running total that adds the day's volume when the price closes higher and subtracts it when it closes lower. Joseph Granville popularized it in his 1963 book Granville's New Key to Stock Market Profits, with the view that volume moves first and price follows.

What are the weak points?

The win rate is low, about 30%, and it trades 15–20 times a year. It takes many small losses (Bitcoin since 2018: −2.8% on average) and earns on a few big rallies (+14.9% on average), so it holds only about 39% of the time. From 2024, Bitcoin plain holding did slightly better (1.82×) than the rule (1.77×).

Why is it crypto only?

Tested on stocks and index ETFs (SPY, QQQ), the same rule fell well behind plain holding. On Bitcoin and Ethereum it matched or beat holding with far smaller worst drops. On a non-crypto chart the panel shows a warning.

Were 20 and 50 picked to fit the past?

No. They are the first values tested, and in all 9 nearby combinations Bitcoin's worst drop stayed smaller than plain holding.

Do signals change later, or use leverage?

No. Signals appear only after the daily close confirms them, so they never repaint. It moves between holding the coin and cash only: no leverage, no shorting, and it places no orders.

Can I edit or share the code?

You can edit it for personal use. Sharing, redistribution and resale rights are not included.

VOLUME TIDE · V1