Footprint imbalances (diagonal and stacked)

What it is

On a footprint, an imbalance compares buying and selling diagonally, because a buyer at the ask trades one tick above a seller at the bid. A buy imbalance is when the volume bought at one price is several times the volume sold one tick below it. TradingView's default ratio is 300%; other platforms use different settings.

Stacked imbalances are several imbalances on the same side at consecutive prices, often three or more. They mark a zone where one side was clearly in control, and traders watch it as support or resistance once the bar has closed.

This is a different thing from an ICT 'imbalance' (a fair value gap). It needs real footprint data, so it doesn't work on spot forex.

How to spot it

• Highlighted cells on the footprint, coloured by side.
• Three or more in a row on the same side form a stacked imbalance zone.

How to use it

• After a bar with stacked buy imbalances, look for longs if price comes back to that zone and holds.
• A stacked imbalance that price trades straight back through has failed, which can itself be a signal.

Common mistakes

• Treating every single highlighted cell as meaningful.
• Comparing imbalances across platforms that use different ratios.

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