Reading a Crypto Chart: Candlesticks Explained

A candlestick packs four prices into one shape: open, high, low, close. Learn to read one and you can read any chart on any timeframe.

The anatomy

• Body — the range between open and close. Green or hollow means it closed higher; red or filled means lower.
• Wicks — the extremes reached during the period. A long wick shows price was rejected there.

What wicks tell you

A long upper wick means buyers pushed price up and sellers pushed it back down. That is rejection, and it usually marks where supply sits.

A long lower wick is the opposite: sellers drove it down and buyers absorbed it. It marks where demand showed up.

Timeframes change the story

The same asset can look bullish on the daily and bearish on the weekly. Neither is wrong — they are answering different questions.

Higher timeframes carry more weight. A weekly level breaking matters more than a 15-minute one, and it is where most retail traders get the hierarchy backwards.

Volume is not optional

Price shows what happened; volume shows how much conviction was behind it. A breakout on falling volume is usually a trap. A breakdown on rising volume usually is not.

The honest part

Chart reading describes what already happened. It does not predict what comes next. Use it to manage risk and set levels — not as a crystal ball.