An order block, or OB, is a price zone marked by traders using smart money concepts as a possible area of prior concentrated buying or selling. Its association with institutional activity is an analytical hypothesis, not a verified record of an institution’s orders.
How traders mark the zone
One common method identifies the last bearish candle before a strong upward move as a bullish order block. The reverse uses the last bullish candle before a strong decline as a bearish order block. Some methods also require a break of a previous swing level.
Boundaries vary: an analyst may use the candle body, its entire high-to-low range, or a group of candles. For example, a candle body spanning 98–100 before a rally could define one analyst’s bullish zone. Another method could produce wider boundaries.
What a revisit can show
Traders watch a return to the zone for possible support or resistance. Price may react, pass straight through, or never revisit it.
Because the zone is inferred from past prices, it does not prove that unfilled institutional orders remain there. An order block is neither an order book displaying current quotes nor a block of blockchain transactions. Its identification rules and timeframe matter, and it supplies no guaranteed entry or price target.