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DEX SCREENER GUIDE · TRANSACTIONS

DEX Screener Transactions: Buy Counts, Sell Counts and Unique Makers

Buy counts, sell counts and unique makers describe participation from three angles. Read together, they reveal whether activity is broad or concentrated.

By ChartsPod Editorial Team · Reviewed by ChartsPod Research
Published · Updated · 5 min read

Short answer

DEX Screener reports transactions as counts of buys and sells per time window, and separately the number of unique makers (distinct wallets). Many transactions from few makers suggests repeated trading by a small group; many makers each trading once suggests broad participation. Buy counts do not measure buy volume: one large sell can outweigh hundreds of small buys. Read counts, makers and volume together.

Three metrics

MetricMeasuresMisleading when
Buy / sell countsNumber of swaps per sideSizes differ widely
Unique makersDistinct walletsOne entity uses many wallets
VolumeValue tradedDominated by a few large swaps
Participation patternsParticipation patterns. Many txns, many makers: Txns high yes, Makers high yes, Read as broad. Many txns, few makers: Txns high yes, Makers high no, Read as concentrated. Few txns, many makers: Txns high no, Makers high yes, Read as early/quiet.Txns highMakers highRead asMany txns, many makers●●broadMany txns, few makers●○concentratedFew txns, many makers○●early/quiet● yes ◐ partial / depends ○ no ? not verified
Compare transactions per maker to spot repetition. Original ChartsPod editorial graphic.

Transactions per maker

Illustrative transactions per unique maker (24h)Illustrative transactions per unique maker (24h): Pool A 1.6 tx; Pool B 4.2 tx; Pool C 38.0 tx.ILLUSTRATIVE TRANSACTIONS PER UNIQUE MAKER (24H)Pool A1.6 txPool B4.2 txPool C38.0 txIllustrative. A very high ratio suggests a few wallets trading repeatedly.
A simple ratio surfaces concentration quickly. Original ChartsPod editorial graphic.

See High DEX Volume With Few Makers: Questions to Ask Before Trading for what to ask when volume is high but makers are few, and DEX Buy Count vs Buy Volume: Why They Can Tell Different Stories for counts versus volume.

Use several windows

DEX Screener reports transactions by time window. A 5-minute window can be dominated by one burst; a 24-hour window can hide a recent change. Read at least two windows: a short one for current activity and a long one for baseline.

If buys dominate the short window but not the long one, something just changed. If makers in the short window are a tiny subset of the long window, a few wallets are currently active.

Compare the same metrics across the token's main pools. Activity that appears in one pool only is more likely to be routing or arbitrage.

Example: same counts, different stories

Illustrative: two pairs each show 1,000 buys and 800 sells in 24 hours. Pair A has 600 unique makers; pair B has 40. Pair A's activity is spread across many wallets; pair B's averages 45 transactions per wallet. Same counts, very different participation.

Reading routine

  1. Note buys, sells and makers for 1h and 24h.
  2. Compute transactions per maker.
  3. Compare buy count with buy volume.
  4. Open the largest swaps; who made them?

For exchange-listed tokens, compare with taker buy/sell volume in a footprint.

Open the ChartsPod terminal

Read buy and sell counts with unique makers and volume; any one alone can mislead.

Check DEX Screener Transactions against a live market before relying on it.

Try it in ChartsPod

Questions readers ask

Do more buys than sells mean price will rise?

No. Counts ignore size; volume and makers matter.

What are unique makers?

Distinct wallets that traded in the window.

Can makers be faked?

One entity can use many wallets; treat makers as an upper bound on independent participants.

Sources and methodology

DEX Screener behaviour comes from its official documentation (token listing, trending, boosting and API reference) as read on 17 October 2026. Interface labels may differ slightly from API field names. Examples use illustrative numbers and no real token is implied.

  1. DEX Screener: API reference — token and pair endpoints, nullable fields, rate limits.
  2. DEX Screener: Trending — multiple ranking inputs.

This article explains research tools and workflows. It is not financial advice, does not recommend buying or selling any asset and does not predict prices. Crypto derivatives carry a risk of rapid and total loss of margin.

CHARTSPOD EDITORIAL EDITION · RESEARCH AND EDUCATION ONLY · NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE.