# Order book

The [Order book](https://docs.p2pprice.app/glossary/) box takes the latest market snapshot and breaks it into price levels. It shows how much [USDT](https://docs.p2pprice.app/glossary/) is offered at each price, so you can see where most trading interest sits right now.

## What you see

The box has two sides, side by side:

- **Left side (green):** buy volume. These are offers from people who want to buy USDT.
- **Right side (red):** sell volume. These are offers from people who want to sell USDT.

Each bar in the chart represents one price level. A longer bar means more USDT is offered at that price. A shorter bar means fewer offers at that price.

## How scaling works

Each side is scaled to its own total. That means the buy side and the sell side are each treated independently.

This matters because the two sides are often very different in size. If one side is much smaller than the other, its bars would look nearly invisible if both sides shared the same scale. By scaling each side to itself, even a small side still shows its shape clearly.

## This box ignores the page time range

This is important to know. Most boxes on the analytics page follow the time range you set at the top of the page. The Order book box does not.

It always uses the latest snapshot only. Whatever time range you have selected does not change what this box shows. It always shows the current state of offers, not a historical view.

## How to use the expanded view

Click the box to open it in a larger expanded view. Inside the expanded view, you can switch between [CEXs](https://docs.p2pprice.app/glossary/) (centralized exchanges, such as Binance). Each CEX has its own order book, so switching lets you compare where offers sit on different platforms.

## How a beginner uses it

You do not need to read order books at an advanced level to get value from this box. Here is a simple way to use it:

1. Look at where the longest bars are on each side.
2. The price levels with the most volume are where most traders have placed their offers.
3. If many offers cluster tightly around one price, that price tends to act as a reference point. The market often returns to or holds near that level.
4. If offers are spread out across a wide range of prices, the market has less agreement on value at that moment.

This gives you a quick sense of where the price is strong right now, without needing any chart reading experience.