External vs internal liquidity

Liquidity & Stop Hunts

Two layers of every range

External liquidity sits at the extremes: the range's actual high and low, where stops from the widest audience rest. Internal liquidity sits inside the range: smaller swing points and gaps, plus the order blocks the market clears on its way to the extremes.

Internal liquidity usually clears first

Price tends to clean up internal swing points and gaps before committing to the bigger, more consequential external high or low. That's why the middle of a range often feels choppy right before the real move starts.

External liquidity is the real destination

Internal sweeps are the appetizer. The external high or low holds the deepest, most obvious liquidity, and it's usually the level that finally triggers the decisive break of the whole range.