Coverage answers “from which observed frame?”
When Isobath reports a large wallet change, the number is drawn from an observation process with a defined population. Coverage tells you how much of the relevant market or attempted wallet frame that result represents. It is the context that separates “this was observed” from “this describes the entire venue.”
On a market page, the observation rail can show the number of accounts checked, unavailable accounts, the fixed wallet frame, and the share of open interest observed where that field is available. On an event or Daily Tape record, coverage travels with the dated observation when the underlying scan supports it.
What sits inside the frame
The frame is not only the wallets that returned a clean position. It includes attempted accounts, successful observations, empty states, and failures. That matters because silently dropping failures would make a partial scan look complete. Isobath keeps those states visible so the reader can judge the record.
The exact comparison window also matters. A 24-hour observation and a latest scan answer different questions, even if both contain a $10M change. Read the start and end times, observed age, and market before comparing figures from separate pages.
Higher coverage and lower coverage
Higher coverage generally gives you a broader observed frame. It does not turn an observation into a complete census, but it supports a wider description of the visible market. Lower coverage means the record is narrower: the event can still be real and important, but it should be described as an observation within that frame.
For example, “Isobath observed $9M of short liquidation exposure in this cluster” is precise. “There is $9M of short liquidation exposure across Hyperliquid” overstates what the page establishes if coverage is partial.
Coverage is different from rank and share
Coverage describes the breadth of the observation. Rank describes where an account sits inside the observed asset frame. Share describes the account’s portion of observed exposure after the relevant calculation. These values answer different questions and should not be substituted for one another.
A wallet can be ranked #3 in the observed BTC frame while the overall scan still has incomplete coverage. That means “#3 observed BTC account,” not “the third-largest BTC account on the entire venue.” The glossary keeps these terms separate.
How researchers should use coverage
When citing an Isobath result, include the market, observation date and time, comparison window, coverage, and the stable page URL. If a scan is stale or accounts were unavailable, mention that in the description. This makes the citation reproducible and prevents a bounded observation from being repeated as an unqualified market total.
Read the methodology for the full observation-frame explanation, then use a dated Daily Tape page when you need a time-specific example.
Coverage in practice
Coverage is not a footnote to ignore after reading the headline. It helps decide whether to investigate one wallet, compare several wallets, open the Heatmap, or wait for a stronger observation. It is part of the evidence attached to the answer.