Profile Zones, Order Flow, Filters: The Next Level of Crypto Trading

Crypto Trading with Auction Theory and Order Flow

After nine years of intensive research into the crypto market, Johannes Forthmann presents a work that breaks new ground: it describes the application of auction theory and structured Order Flow filters to the crypto market — offering a well-founded alternative to conventional technical analysis methods.

The first edition appeared in late 2022. The book was fully updated in summer 2025 — including more than 100 charts from 2025 that systematically map concrete market situations. While earlier years were marked by insufficient liquidity, the situation has noticeably improved since 2024, opening up new possibilities for short-term crypto trading.

Who Is This Book For?

The book is aimed at experienced short-term traders who have reached the limits of classical technical methods. Basic chart-reading knowledge is assumed — it is less suited for beginners.

The Analytical Approach

Instead of guesswork, forecasts, expert opinions, trend-following theories, indicators, or gut feeling, VMO analysis relies on structured, fundamentally based filters and on recognizing zones where major market participants have already been active. The trader independently observes, analyzes, and decides — based on objective data delivered by the market itself, rather than on classical chart patterns whose predictive power remains disputed.

A dedicated chapter covers volatility measurement, which, combined with VMO techniques, serves as a visual orientation aid. Other chapters explore the specific characteristics and deceptive patterns of the crypto market — including a breakdown of the bear market following the all-time high of October 2025 as a practical example of typical market behavior.

What Readers Will Take Away

Analytical Craft

• Core principles of VMO analysis and auction theory
• Market and volume profile in the crypto context
• Order Flow analysis: Footprint charts, Delta, POC divergences
• TPO analysis techniques and Delta strategies
• Intraday volatility measurement

Crypto-Specific Tools

• Structured filters: Anchored VWAPs, Crypto Market Breadth, SFR, Crypto Cash
• Liquidity zones, key zones, reference zones on macro and micro levels
• Fake Moves, squeeze patterns, stop-running zones, Ledges
• Session planning and timing aids

Practice and Discipline

• Insights into short-term trading of major cryptocurrencies
• Risk and trade management (stop-loss, take profit, trailing stops)
• Learning steps for context-based, independent analysis

Table of Contents

Foundations
1–4. Introduction · Upheavals · Bitcoin and the Dollar's Journey · Profile Zone and Order Flow Analysis

Market Structure
5–12. Trading Paradigms · Fundamentals · The Meaning of Charts · Key Zones · Crypto Instruments · Exchanges and Trading Hours · Short-Term Market Participants

Analytical Tools
13–25. Market Profile · Volume Profile · Value Area · Order Flow Software · Profile Shapes · TPO Split Profiles · Sideways Zones · The Market's Internal Clock · Order Flow Formations · Delta · Divergence Chains

Crypto-Specific
26–33. Crypto Market Characteristics · Filters (VWAPs, Breadth, SFR, Cash) · Preparation · Liquidity & Volatility · Ledges · Fake Patterns · Squeeze Patterns · Stop-Running Zones

Conclusion & Bonus
34–44. Examples · Summary · Self-Reflection · Defining a Trend · Risk Management · Indicators · Trading Systems · Forecasts · Bibliography

About the Author

Johannes Forthmann is a German economist with more than 25 years of experience in day trading. From 2001 to 2005, he trained under US trading veteran Joe Ross. He worked for a Swiss trading house on futures hedging strategies and founded a European educational publishing house in 2020, along with an online day trading academy.

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