Every trade on a chain is made by a wallet, and every wallet is visible. So for any coin it is possible to count how many separate wallets bought over a period and how many sold. That count answers a question volume cannot: how many participants are behind the move.
Why count wallets and not trades
Volume adds up dollars. One wallet trading back and forth all day can produce as much volume as a thousand wallets trading once. The dollar total is the same and the situations are opposite. Counting distinct wallets on each side separates them.
Many buyers, few sellers
This is a coin drawing new participants while existing holders stay put. It is the picture most people hope to see. It is also the picture that exists just before holders decide to sell. It describes the last hour. It does not describe the next one.
Many sellers, few buyers
Holders are leaving and few are replacing them. On a thin pool this drains depth quickly, because each sale takes money out and nothing puts it back. A coin can still be high on the trending list in this state, since selling is activity too. Why a coin can trend while it is falling covers that case.
A handful on each side
A few wallets buying and a few selling, with large volume between them, usually means a small group trading among themselves. The volume is real in the sense that it happened. It is no evidence of demand. This is the pattern set out in wash trading and on-chain volume.
Where the count breaks
A wallet is not a person. Creating wallets costs almost nothing, and one participant can run many. So a count of many buying wallets can be manufactured. The split is strong evidence when it shows few participants, because that is hard to fake in the other direction. It is weaker evidence when it shows many.
The count also ignores size. Fifty small buyers and one large seller is a split that looks healthy and may not be. That is why it is read beside holder concentration, which looks at how much each wallet holds.
The split means most when set against the pool. Many buyers on a growing pool is one thing. Many buyers on a pool that is not growing means the money coming in is being matched by money going out somewhere. The wallet count is a second opinion on what depth and turnover already suggest.
Where NoVo shows it
The Crypto Market Map maps on-chain tokens on Robinhood Chain, Solana and Base by pooled depth, turnover and the split of buying and selling wallets. Open a coin from the Robinhood trending strip and the split is on the same screen as its depth and contract address.