Every Trade Has a Buyer and a Seller
By the end, you can explain why price moves without saying 'more buyers than sellers'.
A tug-of-war where the rope always has the same number of hands on each side. The rope moves not because one side has more people, but because one side pulls harder — with more urgency.
Every single trade has exactly one buyer and one seller. They are equal in number by definition — a contract can't be bought unless someone sells it. So 'price rose because there were more buyers than sellers' is impossible.
Price moves because one side is more aggressive — willing to accept worse prices to get filled right now. Aggressive buyers push price up; aggressive sellers push it down.
Price rises because buyers are more aggressive at current prices. Price falls because sellers are more aggressive at current prices.
“There were more buyers than sellers, so it went up.”
“Buyers were more aggressive — they lifted offers to get filled — so price rose to find sellers.”
Why is 'more buyers than sellers' impossible as an explanation?
- Every trade has one buyer and one seller — counts are always equal.
- Aggression, not headcount, moves price.
- Say 'buyers were more aggressive', never 'more buyers than sellers'.
Up next — Aggression has a mirror image: patience. Next, the two kinds of participant.