Reading Charts

Understand price charts and basic technical analysis

⏱️ 22 min

Reading Crypto Charts

Charts visualize price history and help identify trends. You don't need to become a trader, but understanding basics helps.

Candlestick Basics

Each candlestick shows 4 data points:

- **Open**: Starting price for the period

- **Close**: Ending price

- **High**: Highest price reached

- **Low**: Lowest price reached

Green/White candle: Price went UP (close > open)

Red/Black candle: Price went DOWN (close < open)

Timeframes

- **1m, 5m, 15m**: Day trading (very noisy)

- **1H, 4H**: Short-term trends

- **1D, 1W**: Long-term trends (most useful for investors)

Key Concepts

Support: Price level where buying pressure increases

Resistance: Price level where selling pressure increases

Volume: Amount traded - confirms price moves

Trend: Overall direction (higher highs = uptrend)

Simple Indicators

Moving Averages: Smoothed price over X periods

- 50-day MA: Medium-term trend

- 200-day MA: Long-term trend

- Price above MA = bullish, below = bearish

RSI (Relative Strength Index):

- Above 70 = possibly overbought

- Below 30 = possibly oversold

Important Truth

Charts show PAST data. They don't predict the future. No indicator is magic. Use them as one input among many, not as a crystal ball.