TRADE EVIDENCE

Trading ideas, put to the test.

ICT Liquidity: BSL, SSL, and What a Chart Cannot Show

Orders may cluster above a prior high, but drawing a line does not measure the orders. Distinguish ICT liquidity labels from observed market liquidity.


English · 한국어

Orders may cluster above a prior high, but drawing a line does not measure the orders. Distinguish ICT liquidity labels from observed market liquidity.

Price crossed the high, then closed back below. Above 100, then a close at 98: price returned below the level.
Concept illustration: Price crossed the high, then closed back below. Above 100, then a close at 98: price returned below the level.

Above highs and below lows

In ICT terminology, BSL marks areas such as prior highs where buy stops may execute. SSL marks areas such as prior lows where sell stops may execute. The label describes order direction, not the side of the position being stopped out.

A short stop can result in buying; a long stop can result in selling. New breakout entries may occur nearby too. A chart cannot identify the owner of those orders.

Market liquidity is broader

Spread, order-book depth, and price impact for a given size are also liquidity concepts. BSL and SSL are not direct measurements of those quantities.

Foreign-exchange order research provides evidence of stop clustering and associated price effects. It does not validate the whole ICT framework or every BTC liquidity claim.

A sweep versus a continuing break

With a fictional confirmed high at 100, a bar reaching 101 and closing at 99 trades beyond the level and closes back inside. That is one way to distinguish the event from a break that continues above the level.

Measure subsequent reversal separately. Selecting only events that later reverse would contaminate an estimate of reversal frequency.

Fix the reference rules

Record the level, confirmation time, wick or close criterion, and reuse limit. Measure overshoot rather than treating every breach as identical.

This site’s sweep study is a BTC research design. Learning a chart convention does not establish predictive performance in a particular market.

Sources and documentation

Federal Reserve Bank of New York — Stop-Loss Orders and Price Cascades in Currency Markets

Continue with common foundations

Position Sizing: Convert a Risk Budget into Order Quantity · Trading Expectancy: Calculate Average Profit and Loss (scheduled) · Open Interest: What an Increase in Contracts Means · Python Price Data Checks: Duplicates, Timestamps, and Returns (scheduled)

Research methods and reporting standards

For education and research. Numerical examples are teaching assumptions unless explicitly identified otherwise. Historical results do not guarantee future performance.

Share this article

X · Facebook

ABOUT THIS ARTICLE

This article is for education and research, not advice tailored to your finances. Results depend on the rules, assumptions, data quality, trading costs, and market conditions. Historical findings do not guarantee future returns.

Methodology · Disclosure · Corrections

TRADE EVIDENCE에서 더 알아보기

지금 구독하여 계속 읽고 전체 아카이브에 액세스하세요.

계속 읽기