#CryptoCharts101
Crypto Charts 101: How to Read and Understand Crypto Charts
Learning how to read crypto charts is a key skill for any trader or investor. Charts help you understand price action, identify trends, and make informed decisions. Here’s a simple breakdown of the essentials:
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🧱 1. The Basics: What’s on a Chart?
X-Axis (Horizontal): Time – shows how the price has changed over minutes, hours, days, etc.
Y-Axis (Vertical): Price – shows the value of the crypto asset.
Candlesticks: Each candle represents a time period (e.g., 1 min, 1 hour, 1 day).
🟩 Green (or white) candle: Price went up.
🟥 Red (or black) candle: Price went down.
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🕯️ 2. How to Read a Candlestick
A single candlestick shows:
Open: Price at the start of the time period.
Close: Price at the end of the time period.
High: The highest price in the period.
Low: The lowest price in the period.
The "wick" (or shadow) shows the range between high/low.
The body shows the range between open/close.
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📈 3. Chart Types
Line Chart: Simple plot of closing prices over time.
Bar Chart: Like candles, but with small lines.
Candlestick Chart (most popular): Gives most detail—used by most crypto traders.
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📐 4. Key Chart Patterns
Support & Resistance:
Support: Price level where it tends to stop falling.
Resistance: Price level where it tends to stop rising.
Trendlines: Drawn to show the general direction of the market (uptrend, downtrend, sideways).
Chart Patterns:
📈 Bullish: Double bottom, ascending triangle, cup and handle.
📉 Bearish: Double top, descending triangle, head and shoulders.
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⚙️ 5. Technical Indicators (Optional Tools)
These help you make predictions about future price movement:
Moving Averages (MA): Smooth out price trends.
SMA (Simple) and EMA (Exponential) are most common.
RSI (Relative Strength Index): Measures if crypto is overbought or oversold (0–100 scale).
MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence): Shows momentum and trend direction.
Volume: Shows how many coins were traded