A liquidation heatmap shows how much leveraged money would be force-closed at each price level, using color intensity or bar length. The brighter the color or the longer the bar, the more positions get liquidated if price reaches that level.
Color means size
Every heatmap uses its own palette, but the logic is always the same:
- Bright, intense colors mark price levels with a lot of liquidations stacked up.
- Dim or dark colors mark levels with little at stake.
- Long horizontal bands are liquidation levels that have been building up at the same price for a while.
Always check the color legend first. You can't read the map until you know which end of the scale means "a lot."
Focus on clusters near price
A bright band far away matters less than a cluster close to the current price, because nearby levels are the ones price can realistically reach today.
- Clusters above the current price are short liquidations.
- Clusters below the current price are long liquidations.
Why cascades happen
Liquidations are executed as market orders. A liquidated short becomes a forced buy; a liquidated long becomes a forced sell. That order pushes price further, which reaches the next liquidation level, which pushes price again. That's a liquidation cascade. When several dense clusters sit stacked close together, cascades become more likely.
A bright zone doesn't mean price will go there. It means that if price heads that way, the move can get bigger. This isn't financial advice - always make your own call.
A simple routine
- Find the current price on the map.
- Look for the nearest bright cluster above and below.
- Compare their size. A much bigger cluster on one side tells you where a sharp move could get fuel.
- Check again later - clusters shrink or vanish as traders close or adjust positions.
How WhaleCue shows it
The WhaleCue liquidation map only includes the liquidation prices of whales holding large positions, shown as bars - longer bars mean more money at that level. When a big wall forms close to the current price, the map flags it right away as a "liquidation warning" or "liquidation risk," so you don't have to scan the colors yourself.