Glossary

Plain-language definitions for every term used across the BackQuant docs and the terminal. Alphabetical, with a category chip on each entry so you can tell at a glance which part of the platform a term belongs to.

Sorted alphabetically. 66 entries.

0DTEOptions: Zero days to expiry. Today's session-expiring option contracts. Most reactive intraday positioning.
Aggregate (PERP_AGG / SPOT_AGG)Perps: Cross-exchange composite series. PERP_AGG = Binance + Bybit + Hyperliquid + OKEX perps; SPOT_AGG = Binance + Bybit + Coinbase + OKEX spot. Default tape on BackQuant.
AGRDOMPerps: Aggressive-taker dominance. Per-venue read of which exchange's takers are leading the move. More.
ATMOptions: At-the-money. Strike near current spot. The most informative single point on the chain for vol reading.
AUM (ETF)Macro: Total assets under management held in spot crypto ETFs. Cumulative size; combines flows and price appreciation.
Backwardation (VIX)Macro: Front-month VIX > back-month. Equity vol stress signal. Often coincides with active sell-offs.
BasisPerps: Perp price minus spot price, expressed as a percentage. Positive = perps richer than spot; negative = perps cheaper. Sudden basis collapse from positive often marks long capitulation.
BFLY (butterfly)Options: Smile curvature. Computed as 25Δ call IV + 25Δ put IV minus 2× ATM IV. High = tail premium rich; low = tails cheap relative to ATM.
BSVPerps: Buy / sell volume. Per-bar split of taker-buy vs taker-sell volume. The non-cumulative sibling of CVD.
CarryPerps: The implied yield on a short-perp / long-spot pair. The funding APR is its primary driver.
CascadePerps: Reflexive liquidation chain. Long liquidations sell into a falling market, triggering more long liquidations. Mirrored on shorts.
CharmOptions: ∂Δ/∂t. How an option's delta changes purely from the passage of time. Drives expiry-day hedging flow.
Color groupPlatform: Symbol-linkage chip on each panel header. Panels in the same group propagate symbol changes to each other.
Contango / backwardationOptions: Term structure shapes. Contango: back-month IV > front-month (calm now, more later). Backwardation: front > back (stress now).
CPIMacro: Consumer Price Index. Year-on-year headline inflation. The policy-relevant inflation print.
Credit spread (HY OAS)Macro: High-yield corporate bond spread over Treasuries. Under 350 bps = relaxed; over 500 bps = stressed. Tends to lead equities.
CVDPerps: Cumulative volume delta. Running sum of taker buys minus sells. Read against price for divergence signals.
Dealer flowGEX: The mechanical buying and selling that option market makers do to keep their book delta-neutral as spot moves.
Delta (Δ)Options: Option price sensitivity to a $1 move in spot. Also approximately the probability of expiring ITM.
DTEOptions: Days to expiry.
DVOLOptions: Model-free volatility index. Variance-swap replication of the chain. Robust across smile shapes.
Expected moveGEX: Straddle-derived 1σ range from now to expiry. The market's pricing for "how far can we go."
Extrinsic valueOptions: Option premium minus intrinsic value. The time-value plus volatility-value premium. Bleeds toward zero at expiry.
Fed liquidity (net)Macro: Fed balance sheet minus reverse-repo facility minus Treasury General Account. Rough proxy for liquidity in the system.
FLDSPlatform: Function discovery overlay. Searchable index of every command on the platform. Press F1 or type FLDS.
Funding APRPerps: Annualised perp funding rate. The carry the long pays the short (positive) or vice versa (negative).
Gamma (Γ)Options: ∂Δ/∂S. Second derivative. Measures how fast delta changes as spot moves. Highest at ATM.
GEXGEX: Gamma exposure. Net dealer gamma at every strike on the chain. Positive = dealers stabilise; negative = dealers amplify. More.
HVLGEX: High Volume Level. The strike at which cumulative GEX flips sign. Above HVL = net long-gamma regime; below = net short-gamma.
ITM / OTMOptions: In-the-money / out-of-the-money. Whether the strike is on the profitable side of spot.
IVOptions: Implied volatility. Annualised volatility number that reproduces the option market price under Black-Scholes.
IVRVOptions: IV minus RV. Volatility risk premium proxy. Positive = vol sellers earn premium; negative = vol buyers earn.
L/S ratioPerps: Long / short ratio. Above 1 = more longs than shorts on the venue; under 1 = more shorts. Sentiment, not money.
LayoutPlatform: Saved snapshot of panels + positions. Reload via LAYOUT name. Different from a workspace (a running instance).
LiquidationPerps: Forced position close when leveraged margin runs out. Long liqs trigger as price falls; short liqs as price rises.
Long gammaGEX: Dealer long an option. Hedging is stabilising: dealers sell rallies, buy dips. Pinning likely.
Max painOptions: The strike at which option holders collectively lose the most at expiry. Often a magnet on long-gamma days.
OIPerps: Open interest. Total outstanding perp contracts. Read against price for the four-quadrant flow classifier.
OICLASSPerps: OI / price flow classifier. Emits live LONG BUILD / SHORT BUILD / LONG UNWIND / SHORT COVER tags. More.
OPEXOptions: Options expiry. Typically refers to the next major monthly or quarterly expiry.
PanelPlatform: Single chart or tool in the pro workspace. Spawned by a command, draggable, resizable.
PCEMacro: Personal Consumption Expenditures. Fed's preferred inflation measure. Core PCE drives policy decisions.
PCROptions: Put / call ratio. Open interest in puts divided by open interest in calls. Above 1 = defensive; below 1 = offensive.
PinGEX: Spot anchored to a high-OI strike near expiry due to dealer hedging mechanics. Strongest on long-gamma 0DTE.
Premium (Coinbase)Perps: Coinbase price minus other major spot venues. Positive = US spot demand; negative = US selling pressure.
Risk reversal (RR)Options: 25Δ skew expressed as a tradeable position: long OTM call, short OTM put (or reverse). The skew you can actually trade.
Risk-on / risk-offMacro: Composite read of cross-asset risk appetite. Risk-on = tape supports long beta; risk-off = headwinds.
RVOptions: Realised volatility. Backward-looking annualised standard deviation of log returns over a recent window.
Short gammaGEX: Dealer short an option. Hedging is amplifying: dealers buy rallies, sell dips. Breakouts extend.
SkewOptions: Asymmetry of the smile. 25Δ put IV minus 25Δ call IV. Positive = fear bid (puts more expensive). Negative = greed bid.
SmileOptions: IV curve across strikes for a single expiry. Almost always shows higher IV at the wings than ATM.
SqueezePerps: Volatility compression. Bollinger Bands inside Keltner Channels, or rolling RV at multi-week lows. Vol compresses before it expands.
SurfaceOptions: Full strike × expiry × IV shape. The 3D landscape of how the option market prices fear, greed, and uncertainty.
SVIOptions: Stochastic Volatility Inspired. Closed-form parametric model used to fit a smooth surface to live chain IV.
TGAMacro: Treasury General Account. The US Treasury's checking account at the Fed. Component of the net Fed liquidity calc.
Theta (Θ)Options: Time decay. How much an option loses per day from time passing alone. Negative for buyers, positive for sellers.
TPOPerps: Time Price Opportunity. Market Profile letter map of where time was spent at each price during a session.
TRACEGEX: Forward time × price projection of dealer flow. Coloured heatmap from now to expiry showing where dealer hedging concentrates.
VannaOptions: ∂Δ/∂σ. How an option's delta changes when IV changes. Drives skew-related dealer flow.
Vega (𝒱)Options: Sensitivity to a 1pp move in IV. Far-dated options carry the most vega; near-expiry have very little.
VIXMacro: S&P 500 30-day implied volatility index. Equity-side proxy for risk appetite.
VPPerps: Volume Profile. Horizontal histogram of volume by price. Sibling of TPO.
VRPOptions: Volatility risk premium. Persistent IV > RV gap. The compensation vol sellers earn for bearing tail risk.
WallGEX: Strike with large absolute GEX. Acts as resistance (positive above spot) or support (positive below spot). The biggest wall is the day's anchor.
WorkspacePlatform: Named container holding a set of panels in a specific arrangement. Tabs at the top of the pro terminal.
Yen carryMacro: Borrow JPY at low rates, lend in higher-yielding assets (including risk assets). Sustained yen strength forces unwinds.