Updated 2026-07-25
A stop hunt is a move that pushes price through an obvious cluster of stop orders and liquidation prices, triggers that flow, and then often reverses once it is exhausted. You do not need a conspiracy for this to happen. Stops and liquidations cluster at the same visible places, round numbers, prior highs and lows, and obvious swing points, so those areas hold a pool of guaranteed orders that anyone needing liquidity has an incentive to reach.
The tradeable observation is not about intent, it is about structure: exposed clusters attract flow, and once the forced orders are consumed there is nothing left to push price in that direction. That is what a sweep followed by a fast reclaim tends to look like on the chart, and it is often the anatomy of a long wick. Knowing where the clusters sit is exactly what a liquidation map is for, including for placing your own stops somewhere less obvious.