Accumulation / Distribution

How Draconic reads it

Institutions cannot fill large positions in a single trade without moving price significantly against themselves. Accumulation happens across days or weeks: buying on dips, absorbing sell pressure, keeping price range-bound while building size. The tells are subtle: tight range with rising OBV, CVD gradually rising despite flat price, repeat call buying at the same strikes in the options tape. Distribution mirrors the pattern in reverse. Identifying accumulation before the breakout — rather than after, when the pattern is obvious in hindsight — requires reading multiple flow dimensions simultaneously. Price alone rarely reveals the accumulation until the breakout has already happened.