Updated 2026-07-25
A liquidation map plots estimated liquidation levels across the price axis, usually split into the levels above price (where shorts get force-closed, producing forced buying) and the levels below price (where longs get force-closed, producing forced selling). A heatmap is the shaded rendering of the same idea; a map is often the ladder or histogram view of it.
Traders use it for structure, not signals. It shows which side is carrying more exposed leverage, how far away the nearest dense band sits, and whether a level is a thin scatter or a real wall. That informs where a move might accelerate, where to place stops so they are not sitting inside an obvious pocket, and which side has more to lose. It says nothing about direction on its own. Full explainer: liquidation map explained, or open the live Money Map.