How to read a candlestick chart

Each candle shows four prices for a period of time. A short guide to reading candles and spotting what they show.

A candlestick chart shows four prices for each period, for example each day: the open, the high, the low and the close.

The parts of a candle

• The body runs from the open to the close. Green (or hollow) means the price closed higher than it opened; red means it closed lower.
• The wicks (thin lines) show the highest and lowest prices reached during the period.

What candles can tell you

• Long bodies show strong buying or selling.
• Long wicks show prices were pushed away: a long lower wick means buyers stepped in after a drop.
• Small bodies show indecision: buyers and sellers were roughly balanced.

Choosing a time frame

The same coin looks very different on a 30-minute chart and a weekly chart. Short time frames are noisy; longer ones show the bigger trend. Start with the daily or weekly chart before zooming in.

On Coinbell, hover over any candle to see its exact open, high, low, close and change.