OBV

Indicators

• Price
• Volume

OBV

20-candle signal line

• OBV
• Signal line

This is how the node looks on the board: inputs on the left, outputs on the right.

Volume added up by price direction. The On-Balance Volume line adds each candle’s volume when the price rose and subtracts it when it fell. When it rises, the volume comes mainly on rising prices; when it falls, on falling ones. The height of the OBV depends on the candle where counting started, so on its own it means nothing. For alerts use its direction or its crossing with the signal line, its average over the last candles, not fixed thresholds. Example: “OBV crosses above OBV signal 20” fires when more volume comes on rising prices again, sometimes before the price breaks out.

What it looks like

• Price (close of each candle)
• OBV
• Signal line, average of the last 20
• crosses above the signal line

Top: the price; bottom: the OBV and its signal line of the same 1-hour candles, counted from the first of the 500 candles. If counting started elsewhere, the line would only sit higher or lower; the crossings at the dots would stay the same.

Settings

The settings appear on the right under “Properties” once you click the node on the board. Below each field you find the same explanation as here.

Signal line

Default: 20 · from 2 to 500, whole number

How many candles the signal line averages the OBV over. 20 is usual. With fewer candles the OBV crosses its signal line more often, with more less often but on clearer shifts.

Example

Notifies you when the OBV crosses above its signal line, so more volume comes on rising prices again.

How to connect the nodes:

1. Candle (Price) → OBV (Price)
2. Candle (Volume) → OBV (Volume)
3. OBV (OBV) → Compare A/B (A)
4. OBV (Signal line) → Compare A/B (B)
5. Compare A/B (true/false) → Push (Trigger)

On the board it reads: 20-candle signal line

Chain as JSON

To try it, copy it and paste it in the editor under “Import”. Importing creates a new chain.

obv.json

{
  "name": "Example: OBV",
  "version": 1,
  "nodes": [
    { "id": "c1", "type": "core.candle", "position": { "x": 40, "y": 40 }, "settings": { "pair": "BTC/USDT", "timeframe": "1h" } },
    { "id": "o1", "type": "core.obv", "position": { "x": 260, "y": 40 }, "settings": {} },
    { "id": "k1", "type": "core.compare-ab", "position": { "x": 480, "y": 40 }, "settings": { "operator": "crossesAbove" } },
    { "id": "p1", "type": "core.push", "position": { "x": 700, "y": 40 }, "settings": {} }
  ],
  "edges": [
    { "from": "c1.close", "to": "o1.close" },
    { "from": "c1.volume", "to": "o1.volume" },
    { "from": "o1.out", "to": "k1.a" },
    { "from": "o1.average", "to": "k1.b" },
    { "from": "k1.out", "to": "p1.in" }
  ]
}

Inputs and outputs

Only matching types connect: number series to number series (round pin), signal to signal (square), message to message (diamond).

Direction	Pin	Type	Note
Input	Price	Number series	required
Input	Volume	Number series	required
Output	OBV	Number series	–
Output	Signal line	Number series	–

Good to know

• In messages the values are called “OBV”, “OBV signal 20”.
• Warm-up with the default settings: 21 candles (this many extra candles are loaded by the replay before the value is reliable).
• Search also finds it under: obv, on-balance volume, volume, accumulation, buying pressure, divergence.

Technical details

Running sum of the sign of the change in the close times volume, the first candle is 0, signal line as its SMA; the same formula as ta.obv in TradingView.

• Type in the chain: core.obv · Version 1.0.0 · Category key ind
• Settings in the chain: length (Signal line)
• Pins in the chain: Input close, volume · Output out, average
• Reference tests in the manifest: 1 (with fixed price data: 500 candles of 1h)
• How a node is built