In short. Exhaustion is the end of a move for lack of fuel: aggressive orders shrink from candle to candle, delta fades while price still edges in the same direction, and the last push shows thin volume at the extreme. Unlike absorption, no large passive order is needed; the aggressive side just stops coming.
On the footprint, exhaustion prints as a few contracts at the high or low of the last candle (a 'thin top'), decreasing cell volumes toward the extreme, and often an unfinished auction. The following candle usually closes back inside the range.
The trade is the same direction as absorption would give (fade the extreme) but the stop is tighter and the entry later, because exhaustion is confirmed by the absence of follow-through rather than by a visible wall.
Questions traders ask
What is Exhaustion?
Exhaustion is the end of a move for lack of fuel: aggressive orders shrink from candle to candle, delta fades while price still edges in the same direction, and the last push shows thin volume at the extreme. Unlike absorption, no large passive order is needed; the aggressive side just stops coming.