What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
To read a crypto chart, first check which asset and trading pair it shows, where its price data comes from, and the chart’s timeframe. Then read each candle as a summary of that interval’s opening, highest, lowest, and closing prices. Volume and indicators can add context, but none can explain a move by itself or reliably predict what comes next.
Start with the chart’s basic settings
Before interpreting a shape or signal, make sure you know what the chart is measuring. Check the asset and quote pair (for example, whether the price is shown in dollars or another asset), the exchange or data source, the chart type, the price scale, and the selected timeframe. Different venues or data aggregations can show different activity and prices.
On a conventional time-based chart, time runs along the horizontal axis and price along the vertical axis. The timeframe tells you how much time each candle represents: a one-hour candle summarizes an hour, while a daily candle summarizes a day. A short timeframe may make the same market move look noisy; a longer one smooths it through aggregation. That difference changes the view, not the underlying certainty about what will happen next. TradingView explains the chart types available on its platform.
What a candlestick shows
A standard candlestick records four prices for its selected interval: open, high, low, and close (OHLC). The body spans the open and close. Thin lines, often called wicks or shadows, extend to the interval’s highest and lowest prices. TradingView’s candlestick guide describes these chart elements.
#1 Best Overall
- Language: english
- Book - trading: technical analysis masterclass: master the financial markets
- It is made up of premium quality material.
- Open: the price at the start of the interval.
- High: the highest price reached during the interval.
- Low: the lowest price reached during the interval.
- Close: the price at the end of the interval.
Under a common color convention, a candle is shown as rising when its close is above its open, and falling when its close is below its open. Colors are a display setting, not an inherent property of the price: platforms may let you change them. If the colors are unfamiliar, check the chart settings or compare the open and close rather than guessing.
How to interpret candle size and wicks
A longer body means a larger difference between the opening and closing prices during that interval. A long wick means price moved farther beyond the body before the interval ended. These are descriptions of the interval’s price action; neither shape, on its own, establishes what caused the movement or predicts the next one.
Read only completed candles when you need a settled OHLC summary. The candle currently forming can change its body, color, and wick before its interval ends. Also keep the timeframe in view: a large-looking one-hour candle and a daily candle do not represent the same duration. The chart’s scale and interval are part of what you are reading, not background details.
Line charts, candlesticks, and bars
Choose a chart type based on the detail you need. A line chart can give a simpler overview of closing prices, while standard candlesticks make each interval’s open, high, low, and close visible. Bar charts encode similar OHLC information in a different visual form. TradingView describes these chart formats.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
Rank #3
- As a day trader, you can live and work anywhere in the world. You can decide when to work and when not to work.
- You only answer to yourself. That is the life of the successful day trader. Many people aspire to it, but very few succeed. Day trading is not gambling or an online poker game.
- To be successful at day trading you need the right tools and you need to be motivated, to work hard, and to persevere.
For a first look at a market’s broad price path, a line chart may be easier to scan. Switch to candles when you want to inspect the range and opening-to-closing movement within each interval. Changing chart type does not change the market data being summarized; it changes how the information is displayed.
What volume can—and cannot—tell you
Volume bars show reported trading activity for each displayed period. Use them as context alongside price: for instance, you can see whether a move coincided with more or less reported activity than nearby intervals. Make comparisons only when the chart uses consistent units and the same venue or data aggregation. Trading volume from one exchange or pair is not a complete measure of the entire crypto market; TradingView describes its volume indicator as total volume in units.
Volume does not reveal traders’ motives, prove why a price changed, or guarantee that a move will continue. Treat it as an additional measurement, not a verdict.
How to think about chart indicators
Indicators are calculations derived from price or other market data. They can organize information in a different way, but they are not independent proof of a trend, reversal, or trading opportunity. Their formulas and settings can vary by platform, so a label alone may not tell you exactly what is being calculated.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Best Value
- LEARN STOCK MARKET CHART PATTERNS FASTER — Build your pattern recognition skills with 65 educational flash cards covering 20 chart patterns, 34 candlestick patterns, and 13 trading strategy cards. Each card includes concise explanations and visual examples designed for quick review and repeated practice.
- COMPLETE TECHNICAL ANALYSIS TOOLKIT IN ONE DECK — Each flash card covers a different pattern with a clear diagram, easy-to-understand description, and real trading context. Chart pattern cards identify the setup. Candlestick pattern cards decode market signals. Trading strategy cards show your entry point, stop loss, and profit target for each pattern — the exact information most traders spend years learning.
- PERFECT FOR BEGINNERS — LEARN TO QUICKLY RECOGNIZE & TRADE CHART PATTERNS — Never stare at a chart wondering what you're looking at again. These stock market flash cards train your eye to instantly identify bullish reversals, bearish signals, continuation patterns, and candlestick formations. Study them like flashcards, sort them by category, quiz yourself — and start recognizing patterns in live markets faster than you ever thought possible.
- BUILT-IN TRADING STRATEGIES WITH ENTRY, STOP LOSS & TARGET PRICE — Unlike basic reference cards, our 13 Trading Strategy cards show you exactly how to act on each pattern. Know when to enter a trade, where to set your stop loss to minimize risk, and where to set your target price to maximize profits. Whether you trade stocks, options, or forex — these cards give you a practical decision-making framework used by experienced traders every day.
- DURABLE & PORTABLE — PLAYING CARD SIZE, BUILT FOR TRADERS ON THE GO — Designed to the same dimensions as a standard deck of playing cards, these flash cards go wherever you do. Keep them at your trading desk for quick reference during market hours, study them on your commute, or review them anywhere you have a few minutes. High-quality printing on sturdy card stock means they hold up to daily use — not flimsy paper that falls apart after a week.
Do not treat a purported universal RSI “buy” or “sell” level, or any indicator reading, as a reliable prediction. A chart reading describes data under particular settings; it cannot establish that a future outcome is certain. If you use an indicator, identify its platform, formula, and settings, and understand what data it uses before interpreting its output.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A practical sequence for reading a crypto chart
- Identify the market: confirm the asset, quote pair, and exchange or data source.
- Check the view: note the chart type, price scale, and timeframe. Do not compare candles from different intervals as if they cover the same duration.
- Read a completed candle: compare its open and close, then note the high and low shown by its wicks.
- Look at nearby volume bars: compare activity only when units and venue or aggregation remain consistent.
- Evaluate any indicator cautiously: check its platform and settings, and treat it as calculated context—not a prediction or guarantee.
Chart reading does not remove crypto risk
A chart is a way to view market data, not a safeguard against loss. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission warns that virtual-currency prices are volatile and identifies risks including flash crashes and market manipulation in its customer advisory on virtual-currency trading. Investor.gov’s alert describes crypto-asset securities as exceptionally volatile and speculative; that warning concerns crypto-asset securities and should not be read as a claim that every crypto product has the same legal status. See Investor.gov’s crypto-asset securities alert.
Use candles, volume, and indicators to understand what a chart displays. Do not mistake a pattern or calculation for certainty about what the market will do.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
