How to use it
When facing a move you can't explain, don't start by searching for news. Narrow it down in this order, then come here for what that layer requires:
- Is the whole market moving together? (thirty seconds, eliminates most wrong directions)
- What shape is it? A minute-scale spike points to layer 3; weeks of drift point to layers 1 and 2.
- What are markets outside crypto doing? Moving together points to layer 2.
- Sentiment comes last, and it's a residual rather than a cause.
Full reading order in the four layers; the checklist for an active sell-off is in why is crypto crashing today.
What this tool deliberately doesn't do
It doesn't decide for you which layer is currently in charge — that requires the specifics of the moment, and this page only tells you where to look, what to look at, and how that indicator is usually misread. For live readings: layer 1 in depth and impact, layer 3 in funding rates and leverage, and the whole-market question in the market heatmap. All three show states that have already occurred, and likewise give no directional judgement.