IPDA: Interbank Price Delivery Algorithm
Also known as: IPDA, price delivery algorithm, IPDA data ranges, algorithmic price delivery
What is it?
The Interbank Price Delivery Algorithm, or IPDA, is ICT's model of the market as an algorithmic engine that delivers price between pools of liquidity and areas of imbalance, rather than wandering randomly. In this framework price is not searching for a fair value on its own; it is being routed from one objective to the next — taking out resting orders above old highs or below old lows, then rebalancing the inefficiencies it created getting there. It is important to be clear about the epistemics: IPDA is an interpretive model, not a documented piece of software anyone can inspect.
- 1An imbalance is left behind. Price moves fast enough that one side barely trades, leaving an unfilled gap on the chart.
- 2Liquidity builds at old highs and lows. Stop orders and breakout entries pile up just beyond the most recent extremes, forming a pool of resting orders.
- 3Price is delivered to that pool. The market reaches the level, fills the resting orders, and the traders positioned there are done.
- 4Price returns to rebalance. With the liquidity taken, price trades back into the imbalance it created on the way there, and the cycle can begin again.
No bank or exchange publishes such an algorithm, and the concept cannot be verified directly. What traders take from it is a lens — if you assume price is being delivered toward liquidity and back into imbalance, then old highs, old lows and unfilled gaps become objectives rather than obstacles, which is a more useful map than treating every move as noise. The practical hook most users apply is the IPDA data range: looking back over the last 20, 40 and 60 trading days to find the highs, lows and unfilled gaps the market has most recently left behind, and treating those as the current reference set.
On a daily EUR/USD chart that might surface a 60-day high at 1.1020 and an unfilled gap around 1.0850, and the working expectation is that price is drawing toward one or the other. Used honestly it organises where you look; it does not tell you when to enter and it forecasts nothing.
Why it matters: It reframes old highs, old lows and unfilled gaps as the objectives price is drawn toward, which turns a random-looking chart into a map of targets.
It shapes where you look for targets and setups, but supplies no entry, stop or timing on its own.
Real-world example
A trader marks EUR/USD's 20, 40 and 60-day ranges, finds an untouched 60-day high at 1.1020 and an unfilled gap near 1.0850, and treats both as the draws in play.
How SignalBots handles it
SignalBots signals arrive with their target levels stated, so you can check whether an entry is heading toward the same highs, lows or imbalances your own framework has marked. See /risk-warning.
Pro tip
Refresh the 20, 40 and 60-day ranges on a fixed schedule rather than mid-trade — a reference set you redraw after price moves will always seem to confirm what just happened.
Common pitfalls
Treating IPDA as a verified mechanism and assuming price must reach a marked level, when it is a model that is frequently wrong.
Frequently asked questions
Is IPDA a real algorithm at the banks?
There is no public evidence of a specific named algorithm, and nothing about it can be independently verified. Treat IPDA as a conceptual framework for reading price toward liquidity, not as a documented system.
What are the 20, 40 and 60-day ranges for?
They are lookback windows used to find the most recent significant highs, lows and unfilled gaps. The idea is that the market's current reference points sit within roughly the last three months of trading, so older levels matter less.
How does IPDA relate to fair value gaps and order blocks?
Those are the specific price structures the model says the algorithm delivers price into. IPDA is the overarching why; fair value gaps, order blocks and liquidity pools are the where you actually mark on a chart.
Can I automate an IPDA-based strategy?
You can automate the mechanical parts — locating range highs, lows and unfilled gaps over a lookback. Deciding which draw is currently in play remains discretionary, and coding it usually means overfitting to recent history.
Does price always reach the levels IPDA identifies?
No. Price frequently reverses before reaching a marked high, low or gap, and levels can stay untouched for months. The model orders your analysis; it offers no assurance, and your capital is at risk. See /risk-warning.
Trading involves substantial risk of loss. Historical and backtested results do not guarantee future performance. Read the full risk warning.
