Volume, on a trading screen, almost always means trading volume, the measure covered in full on its own page. This entry explains the short form of the word and the ways it is shown on crypto and stock market sites.
Volume is the total amount of an asset that changed hands over a stated period, such as an hour, a day or a month. It can be counted in units of the asset, for example 12,000 bitcoin, or in money, for example 700 million dollars. Crypto data sites usually show a rolling 24-hour figure, while stock markets often report a daily total and an average daily trading volume. Charts commonly display volume as bars under each price candle.
Traders watch volume because it hints at conviction and liquidity. A price move on heavy volume is generally seen as more meaningful than the same move on thin trading, and a market with steady high volume is usually easier to enter and exit without moving the price. Volume is often compared with market capitalization to judge how actively a token trades relative to its size.
Reported crypto volume needs care. Some platforms have inflated their numbers through wash trading, in which the same party is on both sides of a trade, and data sites use different methods to filter such activity. Volume is also distinct from the depth of the order book, which shows what is available to trade right now.