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What is Mitigation Block?

Reviewed by TradingEdgeIC Licensed · Funded Pro Trader
Definition

A zone where price returns to allow trapped large participants to exit at break-even — creating a known reaction zone in the same direction as the recent move.

Also called:mitigation blockMBmitigation
trapped longs here12② mitigation reachedMitigation Block: trapped longs exit at break-even on retest, releasing supply → continuation down.
Original diagram · © TradingEdge · Free to share with attribution

What "mitigation" means in trading

When a large participant enters a trade and the move goes against them initially, they may hold through the drawdown waiting for price to return to their entry — to "mitigate" the unrealized loss. When price returns to that entry zone, they exit at break-even, releasing supply.

A Mitigation Block is the chart zone where this happens. Unlike a Breaker Block (failed OB), a Mitigation Block is associated with a position that was eventually rescued by the market returning to its entry — but the participant still wants out.

How Mitigation Blocks differ from Order Blocks

An Order Block represents where large participants ENTERED with the intent of holding for a directional move. The OB acts as support or resistance on retest because participants defend their position.

A Mitigation Block represents where large participants got STUCK in a losing position. On retest, they exit. The reaction at a Mitigation Block is to RELEASE the position — selling pressure if they were long, buying pressure if they were short.

In a downtrend: a Mitigation Block forms where longs got trapped. When price rallies back to that zone, those trapped longs exit at break-even, providing supply that resumes the downtrend.

Trading the Mitigation

Sequence to look for: (1) Strong directional move (downtrend forming). (2) Counter-trend rally pulls price back toward an earlier zone where buying was visible. (3) Price reacts at that zone — long upper wicks, sharp reversal — and the original downtrend resumes.

Entry: at the mitigation zone, with stop just past the mitigation high (in a bearish setup). Target: the next major structural level or the recent low.

Mitigation trades work best with multi-timeframe confluence — the mitigation zone aligns with a higher-timeframe Order Block or premium/discount level.

Common mistakes to avoid
  • Confusing Mitigation with Breaker — opposite logic, opposite trade direction
  • Trading mitigation without prior trend context — needs an established direction
  • No invalidation if price closes through the mitigation zone
  • Forcing mitigation interpretation onto every retest

Related ICT concepts

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