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Comparison · methodology · estimate vs measurement

Coinglass liquidation heatmap vs the measured map: estimate vs fact

If you are searching for a liquidation heatmap, you will land on Coinglass — deservedly: it is the reference aggregator for crypto futures data. This page is not "we are better at everything". It is a comparison of two genuinely different instruments: the Coinglass heatmap estimates where liquidations may cluster, modeled from aggregated open interest. Our liquidation map measures — real on-chain positions of the top-200 whale wallets on Hyperliquid, with the exact liquidation price of each one.

🧭 The verdict up front: one estimates, one measures. Need the whole market across dozens of exchanges — an aggregated heatmap is the right tool. Need to know whether the fuel near price is real capital — specific wallets, exact prices, actual leverage — that only exists as a measured map. Most serious desks would use both.

Side by side

honest, dimension by dimension · qualitative facts only

Coinglass heatmapINDICIA measured map
MethodologyModel estimate. Liquidation zones inferred from aggregated open interest and typical leverage assumptions — the standard approach for heatmaps of this typeMeasurement. Positions of the top-200 Hyperliquid whale wallets read directly from the blockchain, snapshot by snapshot
Data sourceAggregated futures data from dozens of centralized exchangesOn-chain state of one decentralized exchange — every tracked position is public record
Level precisionProbability zones — bands where liquidations may clusterExact liquidation price per wallet — a specific number for a specific position
Per-position detailAggregates only — individual positions on a centralized exchange are not public, so no model can recover themLeverage and size of every tracked position
CoverageMost of the perp market — many venues, many assetsOne venue (Hyperliquid), top-200 whale wallets — deep, not wide
Cadence & historyA long, multi-year track record across the market cycleSnapshots every 30 minutes · archive since July 2026
Whale actionsMarket-wide liquidation totals, after the factA per-wallet event feed: a whale opened / added / flipped / exited / got liquidated — each wallet under a persistent codename
PriceFree tools plus paid tiersThe live map and recent feed are free; full per-whale history — with a subscription

Neither column is "wrong". They answer different questions — see when to use which.

What Coinglass does better

Credit where due. Coinglass covers dozens of exchanges and a wide universe of assets — if you trade anything beyond the majors, or need funding, open interest and long/short data across the whole futures market in one place, it is the stronger tool. It has a long track record through multiple market cycles, and its toolset goes far beyond the heatmap. For the market-wide picture, an aggregator is simply the right shape of instrument: no single-venue map, ours included, can show you the entire market.

What a measured map shows that an estimate can't

An estimated heatmap cannot answer "is this level real?" — by construction. Individual positions on centralized exchanges are not public, so any heatmap over that data has to model them. A measured map skips the modeling step entirely:

📏 The exact liquidation price of each whale wallet — a number read from the chain, not a probability band.
⚖️ Actual leverage and size per position — you can tell a ×1 fortress from a ×15 powder keg sitting at the same level.
🎞 How the map moves — snapshots every 30 minutes show clusters building or defusing in near real time, and levels shifting as wallets add margin.
🐋 A whale action feed — a wallet opened, added, flipped, exited or got liquidated, each under a persistent codename, so you can follow a specific player through time.
✔️ Confirmed liquidations — when a tracked whale is force-closed, that is an observed on-chain event, not an inferred one.

The trade-off is scope: this depth is only possible because Hyperliquid is on-chain. We measure one venue's top-200 whales precisely rather than estimating everyone everywhere.

When to use which

Reach for an aggregated heatmap when the question is market-wide: where is leverage concentrated across all venues, what does the whole board look like, what about assets we do not track. Reach for the measured map when the question is concrete: is the cluster above price real short capital, at what leverage, who is sitting there, and did anyone just get flushed. In practice they stack well — the estimate frames the broad picture, the measurement verifies the part of it that matters most: the whales.

FAQ

Is the Coinglass liquidation heatmap accurate?

It is a model estimate — and that is not a flaw, it is the only way to build a heatmap on centralized-exchange data, where individual positions are not public. Levels are inferred from aggregated open interest and typical leverage assumptions, so the map shows zones where liquidations may cluster, not confirmed prices. Useful for the market-wide view; it just cannot tell you whether a specific level is real capital or a modeling artifact.

What is a measured liquidation map?

A map built from positions that can actually be read, not inferred. On Hyperliquid, whale positions live on-chain — the exact liquidation price, leverage and size of each wallet is a matter of record. We snapshot the top-200 whale wallets every 30 minutes and plot where their capital gets force-closed. Every level is a specific wallet's real liquidation price.

Is the INDICIA liquidation map free?

Yes. The live measured map and the recent whale action feed are free. The full per-whale history since tracking began and an unrestricted feed are part of the paid tiers.

Should I use Coinglass or INDICIA?

Both, for different questions. The aggregated heatmap for the market-wide picture across many exchanges; the measured map to check whether the fuel near price is real. They complement rather than replace each other.

⚠️ Honest about our own limits: one exchange (Hyperliquid), the top-200 whale wallets — not the whole market; our archive runs since July 2026, far shorter than the multi-year histories aggregators hold. Liquidation levels shift as wallets add or remove margin — the map is a moving picture, not a promise. A system decision log, not investment advice.

See the measured map live

The whale liquidation map — exact prices, leverage, the action feed — updates around the clock and is free to watch. Daily context lands in the Telegram channel.

Open the liquidation map →

Coinglass is a trademark of its respective owner. INDICIA DESK is an independent project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Coinglass. All statements about third-party methodology describe the publicly known approach of aggregated heatmaps in qualitative terms. Not financial advice. © 2026 INDICIA DESK.