A price chart is just a picture of what buyers and sellers have agreed on over time. You do not need to be a technical analyst to get value from one — a handful of basics will let you read the charts on our coin pages and the markets overview with confidence.
OHLC: the four prices
For any period — a day, an hour, a minute — four prices describe what happened:
- Open — the price at the start of the period.
- High — the highest price reached.
- Low — the lowest price reached.
- Close — the price at the end of the period.
A simple line chart usually just connects the closes. That is enough to see the trend, which is why our sparklines and quick charts use it. To see the full range of each period, you need candlesticks.
Anatomy of a candlestick
A candlestick packs all four OHLC prices into one shape. The thick part — the "body" — spans the open and close. The thin lines above and below — the "wicks" or "shadows" — reach to the high and low. Convention colours a candle green (or hollow) when the close is above the open, and red (or filled) when the close is below.
The shape tells a story at a glance. A long body means one side dominated the period; a tiny body with long wicks means buyers and sellers fought to a draw after big swings. None of it predicts the next candle — it simply records what already happened.
Why volume matters
Underneath most charts sits a volume bar for each period: the total amount traded. Volume is the conviction behind a move. A price rise on heavy volume reflects broad participation; the same rise on thin volume can be fragile and easily reversed. When you see an unusual price move, glancing at volume is one of the fastest sanity checks available. You can read more in our glossary.
The 52-week range
On our coin pages you will see a 52-week high and low. This frames where the current price sits within the past year's territory. A price near its 52-week high is not automatically "too high," and one near its low is not automatically "cheap" — but the range tells you whether you are looking at an asset in a strong run, a deep slump, or somewhere in between. It is context, not a verdict.
Support, resistance and trend
Two more terms you will hear constantly. Support is a price level where buying has repeatedly appeared, slowing or reversing declines. Resistance is the opposite: a level where selling has repeatedly capped advances. They are not physical barriers — just zones where past behaviour clustered, and they can break. The broad direction over time is the trend, and the old adage that "the trend is your friend" simply means moves often persist longer than expected, until they do not.
A caution on reading too much in
Charts are a record, not a crystal ball. Patterns that look obvious in hindsight are far harder to act on in real time, and no chart shape guarantees what comes next. Use charts to understand context and frame questions — then combine them with the fundamentals, such as market cap — and with disciplined risk management.
This guide is general education, not investment advice. Chart patterns do not predict future prices, and nothing here is a recommendation. Please read our disclaimer.