THE CRYPTO ENCYCLOPEDIA — VOLUME III

Fair Value Gaps: Understanding Market Imbalances and Price Inefficiencies

Article 155 of 250 Advanced Trading & Strategy 1,046 words

Encyclopedia Classification

Category: Advanced Trading • Market Inefficiencies • Institutional Analysis

Discipline: Smart Money Concepts • Price Action • Order Flow • Market Structure

Prerequisites

  • Article 151 — Market Structure: Understanding How Crypto Markets Actually Move

  • Article 153 — Liquidity Analysis: How Markets Hunt Stops, Create Traps, and Move Capital

  • Article 154 — Order Blocks: How Institutions Build Positions and Where Smart Money Enters

Volume Profile • Imbalance Trading • Market Makers • Institutional Execution • Price Action

Definition

A Fair Value Gap (FVG) is a price imbalance created when aggressive buying or selling causes price to move so quickly that there is little trading activity between certain price levels.

Traders believe these areas may later be revisited as the market attempts to "rebalance" the inefficiency.

Beginner Explanation

Imagine a market where Bitcoin trades:

\$60,000

Then suddenly:

\$62,000

Then:

\$65,000

Price moved so quickly that many traders never had the opportunity to transact between those prices.

That creates a gap in market participation.

The market may later return to that area to:

  • Fill missing orders

  • Find liquidity

  • Create balance

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