Buy and sell ratios: what order flow does and does not tell you

The split between buys and sells is the most visible sentiment signal on a DEX and one of the weakest. Here is how much weight it deserves.

What does the buy sell ratio mean?

Order flow is the count of buy transactions against sell transactions over a period, usually an hour. A token with 600 buys and 400 sells has a 60% buy share.

It is the most immediately readable number on any DEX screen, and among the least reliable, because it counts transactions rather than value.

Why it matters

One thousand small buys and one large sell shows as overwhelmingly positive flow while the token is being distributed. Counting transactions treats a $10 purchase and a $10,000 exit as equivalent events.

Transaction counts are also cheap to manufacture. Generating hundreds of small buys costs fees and nothing else, which makes flow one of the easier metrics to make look healthy.

Where it earns attention is as a divergence signal. Sustained sell dominance during a price rise is worth noticing, because it suggests the move is being sold into rather than bought into. That is a narrower claim than the number is usually asked to support.

How scalper.news scores it

This is the actual curve used to score order flow balance on every token page and in the risk tool. Scores run 0 to 100, where higher means more risk.

How to check it yourself

• Buy and sell counts appear on any DEX aggregator, typically for 5-minute, 1-hour and 24-hour windows.
• Read it against the price move in the same window. Flow that agrees with price tells you little; flow that contradicts it is the case worth examining.

Nothing here is financial advice. A low score means the measurable indicators look unremarkable; it does not mean a token is safe. See how this site works.