What the chart shows
The swing high at $3,974.5 (Tue 00:00 UTC) was swept by the bar starting Tue 13:00 UTC: it reached $3,981.7 but closed back below the level at $3,971.0.
Over the next 6 hourly bars the close moved −$40.0 from the sweep candle’s close.
What is a liquidity sweep?
A liquidity sweep is a quick push beyond an obvious high or low that fails to hold. Stops and breakout orders sit beyond those points; when price runs them and closes back inside, the breakout traders are trapped and price often turns.
The rule that found it
A swing high (a high above the 3 bars on each side) that no later bar has exceeded is a resting level. A bearish sweep is a bar whose high goes above that level but which closes back below it; a bullish sweep is the mirror image at a swing low. The most recent sweep on the chart is shown, with what the next 6 bars did.
How traders use it
- Note the obvious highs and lows where stops are likely to rest.
- A common plan: after a sweep candle closes back inside, wait for confirmation (for example a break of the last small swing in the new direction), place the stop beyond the sweep's wick and aim for the opposite side of the range.
- A push beyond a level that closes and holds outside is a breakout, not a sweep; the close decides which one it is.
Education only: this explains a pattern that already happened on a past chart. It is not a signal or a level to trade today, and not personal advice.