Foundations module · lesson 7 of 32

Why price goes hunting for stops

Speak the market's language: exchange, candle, long/short, leverage, and costs — without this, the rest of the program reads like spellcasting.

3 min · 6 steps

  1. Step 1 · Where the stops are

    Stops sit below equal lows.

    BTC 4h: two lows sit right at 50 625. Whoever bought off them hid a stop just below, and all those stops landed in one place.

    low 1
    50 625
    low 2
    50 625
    below them
    stops
    BTC· 4h · Feb 16–23, 2024real chart · Binance
    Feb 16Feb 19Feb 21Feb 23equal lows 50 625
    lowssweep
  2. Step 2 · The sweep

    Price swept the stops below the lows.

    Feb 23, 2024, 20:00: price wicked to 50 521 and closed back above the lows. The stops became sells: a big player bought them with no slippage.

    level
    50 625
    sweep low
    50 521
    deeper by
    $104
    BTC· 4h · Feb 19–24, 2024real chart · Binance
    Feb 19Feb 21Feb 23equal lows 50 6251
    lowssweep
  3. Step 3 · Yesterday

    Yesterday's high and low work as magnets too.

    BTC 1h, Aug 11, 2024: at 09:00, price took out yesterday's high by $387 and closed back below it. By 12:00, it ran yesterday's whole range.

    Three examples where price ran through all of yesterday's range after the sweep. Picked for the lesson — it doesn't always play out this way.

    BTC· 1h · Aug 10–11, 2024real chart · Binance
    Aug 10Aug 11yesterday1PDH 61 471PDL 60 242
    yesterdaysweepmove

    ETH 1h, yesterday's low

    ETH· 1h · Apr 21–22, 2025real chart · Binance
    Apr 21Apr 22yesterday1PDH 1 658.8PDL 1 564.1
    yesterdaysweepmove

    SOL 1h, yesterday's low

    SOL· 1h · Feb 4–5, 2024real chart · Binance
    Feb 4Feb 5yesterday1PDH 98.59PDL 95.08
    yesterdaysweepmove
  4. Step 4 · Not a signal

    After a sweep, price can go anywhere.

    SOL 15m, Sep 10, 2024: price swept the lows and closed back above. A candle later, it went lower still, to 132.84: there was no reversal.

    A stop sweep isn't a signal yet: direction is confirmed by a structure break, that's the “Structure” module.

    SOL· 15m · Sep 9–10, 2024real chart · Binance
    20:4522:3000:1502:00equal lows 133.441MSS 134.23
    lowssweep
  5. Step 5 · Find it yourself

    Where do the buyers' stops sit?

    BTC 4h, before the sweep. Tap the level where they sit.

    Practice on the chart

    This is a Find it yourself task: tap a candle or a level, and the lesson tells you right away if you got it.

    Create an accountThis step unlocks after sign-up. Your progress is saved.
    BTC· 4h · Feb 16–23, 2024real chart · Binance
    Feb 16Feb 19Feb 21Feb 23
  6. Step 6 · Recap

    Stops sit behind levels, and sweeping them still isn't a signal.

    1
    equal lows
    2
    stops
    3
    sweep
    4
    waiting for a break
    recap

    Stops sit below equal lows and beyond yesterday's high. After they're swept, wait for a structure break.

    There's no rule for your Pact here: what to do after a sweep is decided by a structure break — the next module.

Lessons in this module

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