ICT Asian Range Liquidity: Trading the London Judas Swing Trap

Ever wondered why your perfectly placed London breakout trade gets stopped out within minutes, only for the market to then move 100 pips in your original direction? You aren't unlucky; you're the liquidity. To the institutional algorithm, the quiet consolidation of the Tokyo session isn't just a 'sideways market'—it is a liquidity battery. It’s a period where buy-side and sell-side orders are meticulously charged up, waiting for the London Open to be drained. If you don't know how to identify the 'trap' set during the Asian range, you are likely the fuel for the move you're trying to catch. In this guide, we’ll move beyond basic support and resistance to show you exactly how institutions engineer the Judas Swing to hunt your stops before the real expansion begins.

The Asian Range: More Than Just a Consolidation Box

To trade like the "Smart Money," you have to stop looking at the Asian session as a boring time to sleep and start seeing it as the foundation of the day's narrative. In the ICT methodology, the Asian Range is specifically defined by the time window of 20:00 to 00:00 EST (New York Time).

Defining the 20:00–00:00 EST Window

While the physical Tokyo exchange stays open longer, the institutional algorithm focuses on this specific four-hour window to establish the initial price boundaries. During this time, trading volume is typically lower compared to the London or New York sessions. This lower volatility isn't a lack of interest; it's a deliberate phase of "charging the battery."

The 'Liquidity Battery' Metaphor

Think of the Asian Range as a battery. As price bounces between the high and the low of this 4-hour window, retail traders place buy orders at the top (expecting a breakout) and sell orders at the bottom. More importantly, they place their stop-loss orders just outside the range.

Every minute that price stays inside this box, the "voltage" of the battery increases. By the time the London session approaches, there is a massive cluster of Buy-side Liquidity (BSL) resting just above the Asian High and Sell-side Liquidity (SSL) resting just below the Asian Low. The market doesn't move randomly; it moves toward these pockets of money to facilitate large institutional orders. According to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the FX market sees trillions in daily turnover, and much of that liquidity is sourced from these very retail stop-clusters.

The Power of 3 (AMD): The Institutional Daily Cycle

To navigate the London session successfully, you must understand the Power of 3, also known as the Accumulation, Manipulation, and Distribution (AMD) framework. This is the heartbeat of how the daily candle is formed.

Accumulation: The Asian Sideways Phase

This is our Asian Range. The market accumulates orders. It looks messy and non-directional. Institutions are not trying to push price here; they are allowing retail positions to build up on both sides of the market.

Manipulation: The London Judas Swing

This is where the "trap" is sprung. Named after the biblical betrayal, the Judas Swing is a false move that occurs at the London Open. If the day’s true intention is to go higher, the Judas Swing will sharply drive price below the Asian Range low. This tricks breakout sellers into entering and triggers the stop-losses of early buyers.

Distribution: The London/NY Expansion

Once the liquidity has been "cleared" by the manipulation, the real move begins. Price reverses and expands in the true direction of the day, often trending through the London session and into the New York morning.

Pro Tip: If you see a massive spike during the ICT Killzones that looks like a breakout, wait. If it's a Judas Swing, price will quickly reject that level and head the opposite way.

Mapping the Trap: Identifying BSL and SSL Pools

Your first task every morning is to draw two horizontal lines: one at the highest point of the 20:00–00:00 EST range and one at the lowest. These are not just "support and resistance"; they are the boundaries of the trap.

Engineering the Sweep

Retail "breakout" strategies teach traders to buy when price breaks the Asian High. When these traders buy, they need a seller. Institutions, who have massive buy orders to fill, use these retail buy orders as the counterparty to their sell orders—or vice versa. This is why you often see price pierce the Asian High by 10-15 pips before crashing.

The Magnetism of Session Highs and Lows

Price is attracted to these levels like a magnet. If the higher-timeframe trend is bearish, the algorithm will almost certainly reach for the Asian High (BSL) to grab liquidity before dropping.

Example: If GBP/USD has an Asian High at 1.2650 and a Low at 1.2620, and the daily bias is Bullish, look for a "sweep" of 1.2620 (the SSL) during the London Open. If price dips to 1.2610 and then snaps back, the trap has been set.

To better understand how these zones work on a larger scale, you might want to explore mapping institutional supply and demand zones.

Execution Strategy: Time-Price Alignment and MSS

Knowing where the trap is isn't enough; you need to know when and how to enter. This is where Time-Price alignment comes in.

The 02:00–05:00 EST London Killzone

The Judas Swing almost always occurs within this window. If a breakout happens at 01:00 EST, it’s often a "pre-run" and less reliable. We want to see the manipulation happen when the London big banks are actually at their desks. For more on timing, check out the CME Group's guide to market hours.

Confirming the Reversal with Market Structure Shifts (MSS)

Don't just blind-buy the sweep. Wait for a Market Structure Shift (MSS) on the M1 or M5 timeframe.

1. The Sweep: Price breaks the Asian Low (SSL).
2. The Displacement: Price aggressively moves back up, breaking a recent Swing High.
3. The Entry: Look for a Fair Value Gap (FVG) or a Breaker Block left behind by that displacement.

Lower Timeframe Precision

If you enter on a 5-minute FVG after a sweep of the Asian Low, your stop-loss goes just below the low of the manipulation tail. This often results in a very tight stop (5-10 pips) with a target of the Asian High or the day's projected expansion, offering a high Risk-to-Reward ratio.

Advanced Application and Risk Management

Not every Asian Range is a good setup. You need to filter the "noise" from the high-probability "signals."

When the Asian Range is Too Large

On major pairs like EUR/USD or GBP/USD, an ideal Asian Range is between 20 and 40 pips. If the range is already 60-80 pips, the market has likely already distributed its energy for the day. In these cases, the London session often becomes a "Salami Day"—a slow, choppy grind with no clear direction.

The 'Salami Day' Warning Signs

If price is hovering in the middle of a large Asian range as the London Killzone begins, be wary. The algorithm may just stay within the range, frustrating both buyers and sellers.

Warning: High-impact news (like NFP or CPI) can completely override the Asian Range logic. If there is a red-folder event at 08:30 EST, the London session might just consolidate and wait for the news to provide the real liquidity.

Conclusion

Mastering the Asian Range is the difference between being the hunter and the hunted in the London session. By viewing the Tokyo consolidation as a liquidity battery, you shift your perspective from chasing breakouts to anticipating institutional traps. Remember, the market must first take what it needs (liquidity) before it goes where it wants (expansion). Use the AMD framework to stay on the right side of the daily cycle, and always wait for the Market Structure Shift to confirm that the 'trap' has been sprung.

Are you ready to stop being the fuel and start being the pilot? Open your charts and backtest the last 10 London sessions using the FXNX Session Indicator to see how many times the Asian Range high or low was swept before the true move. Share your findings in our community forum!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the ICT Asian Range time?

The ICT Asian Range is typically defined as 20:00 to 00:00 EST (New York Time). This 4-hour window captures the core consolidation before the London session begins.

How do I trade the London Judas Swing?

To trade the Judas Swing, wait for the London Open (02:00-05:00 EST) to sweep the Asian Range high or low. Once the sweep occurs, look for a Market Structure Shift (MSS) on a lower timeframe to confirm the reversal.

Why does the Asian Range act as liquidity?

Because the Asian session is often low-volatility, retail traders place stop-losses just outside the session's high and low. These clusters of stops create the liquidity that institutional algorithms need to fill large orders.