Passive Seller
Order Flow Analysis glossary · Absorption, Exhaustion & Imbalances
Definition
A participant who rests a limit order to sell at or above the current offer and lets the market come to them. Passive selling is inferred from the footprint by large ask volume at a high that fails to produce further price advance — aggressive buyers lift the offer repeatedly, but the resting institutional seller absorbs every buy and caps the market. The bid volume at the same price is typically small, because aggressive selling is not what is driving the activity.
Passive Seller in plain English
A passive seller is the mirror image of a passive buyer: instead of chasing, they post a price they'll sell at and let eager buyers come to them. The interesting moment is when tons of buyers keep hammering that price trying to push higher, but the price just won't climb — a big seller is quietly filling every buy order and refreshing their offer, capping the market like a ceiling. On the footprint you see large ask volume at a high that fails to rise further, a hint that someone powerful is holding the price down and a top may be forming.
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