Crypto Trading Glossary
Plain-English definitions of the terms behind the CoinSeekly screener — each linked to the live signals and in-depth guides that put it to work.
68 terms defined
Chart Basics
Bull Flag
A bull flag is a continuation pattern where a sharp rise (the pole) is followed by a short, slightly downward drift (the flag) before the climb resumes.
Read definitionCandlestick
A candlestick is a price bar showing the open, high, low, and close for a period, used to read momentum at a glance.
Read definitionCup and Handle
Cup and handle is a bullish continuation pattern: a rounded recovery to a prior high (the cup) and a small dip (the handle) before a breakout.
Read definitionDouble Bottom
A double bottom is a bullish reversal pattern where price tests the same low twice and then breaks above the high between the troughs.
Read definitionDouble Top
A double top is a bearish reversal pattern where price fails twice at the same high and then breaks below the low between the peaks.
Read definitionFibonacci Retracement
Fibonacci retracement levels (23.6%, 38.2%, 50%, 61.8%, 78.6%) mark where a pullback within a trend might pause.
Read definitionHead and Shoulders
Head and shoulders is a reversal pattern of three peaks, the middle one highest, that suggests an uptrend is ending when the neckline breaks.
Read definitionMarket Capitalisation
Market cap is a coin's price multiplied by its circulating supply — the standard measure of its total size.
Read definitionResistance
Resistance is a price level where selling has repeatedly emerged strongly enough to halt or reverse an advance.
Read definitionSupport
Support is a price level where buying has repeatedly emerged strongly enough to halt or reverse a decline.
Read definitionVolume
Volume is the amount of an asset traded in a period — the conviction behind a price move.
Read definitionTrend
Breakout
A breakout is when price moves decisively beyond a support or resistance level, often starting a new directional move.
Read definitionMoving Average
A moving average smooths price by averaging recent closes, turning noisy price action into a readable trend line.
Read definitionTrend
A trend is the prevailing direction of price — up (higher highs and lows), down (lower highs and lows), or sideways.
Read definitionMomentum & Indicators
ATR (Average True Range)
ATR measures volatility as the average size of the daily price range over a period, usually 14 candles.
Read definitionBollinger Bands
Bollinger Bands are two lines drawn a set number of standard deviations above and below a moving average, widening when volatility rises.
Read definitionDivergence
Divergence is when price and an indicator disagree — a warning that the current move is losing momentum.
Read definitionEMA (Exponential Moving Average)
The EMA is a moving average that gives more weight to recent prices, so it reacts faster than a simple average.
Read definitionMACD
MACD is a momentum indicator built from two EMAs that flags when short-term momentum shifts relative to the trend.
Read definitionMomentum
Momentum is the speed and strength of a price move — how forcefully price is travelling, regardless of direction.
Read definitionRSI (Relative Strength Index)
RSI is a momentum oscillator from 0–100 that measures the speed and size of recent price moves.
Read definitionSMA (Simple Moving Average)
The SMA is the plain average of the last N closing prices, giving every day in the window equal weight.
Read definitionStochastic RSI
Stochastic RSI applies the stochastic formula to the RSI itself, producing a faster oscillator that swings between 0 and 1.
Read definitionSignals
Death Cross
A death cross is when the 50-day moving average crosses below the 200-day — a classic long-term bearish trend signal.
Read definitionGolden Cross
A golden cross is when the 50-day moving average crosses above the 200-day — a classic long-term bullish trend signal.
Read definitionMACD Bearish Cross
A MACD bearish cross is when the MACD line crosses below its signal line — momentum turning down, often early in a decline.
Read definitionMACD Bullish Cross
A MACD bullish cross is when the MACD line crosses above its signal line — momentum turning up, often early in a move.
Read definitionRSI Overbought
RSI overbought is when the 14-day RSI reaches 70 or above — an upside momentum extreme that raises pullback risk.
Read definitionRSI Oversold
RSI oversold is when the 14-day RSI falls to 30 or below — a downside momentum extreme that often precedes a bounce.
Read definitionConcepts
Risk & Money
Correlation
Correlation measures how closely two assets move together, from −1 (opposite) through 0 (unrelated) to +1 (in step).
Read definitionDiversification
Diversification is spreading money across assets that do not all move together, so one failure hurts less.
Read definitionDollar-Cost Averaging
Dollar-cost averaging is buying a fixed amount of an asset at regular intervals regardless of its price.
Read definitionDrawdown
A drawdown is the fall from a high to the lowest point before a new high, measured in percent.
Read definitionImpermanent Loss
Impermanent loss is the shortfall of a liquidity pool position compared with simply holding the same tokens.
Read definitionLeverage
Leverage means trading with borrowed money so a position is larger than your own funds, magnifying both gains and losses.
Read definitionLiquidation
Liquidation is the forced closing of a leveraged position by the exchange when losses use up the margin backing it.
Read definitionMargin
Margin is the money you put up as collateral to open and hold a leveraged position.
Read definitionPosition Sizing
Position sizing is deciding how much to buy so that a hit stop-loss costs a fixed share of your account.
Read definitionRisk-Reward Ratio
The risk-reward ratio compares how much a trade can make with how much it can lose, from the distances to the target and the stop.
Read definitionStop-Loss
A stop-loss is an order that sells a position automatically if the price falls to a level you chose, capping the loss on a trade.
Read definitionTake-Profit
A take-profit is an order or planned price at which a winning trade is closed to lock in the gain.
Read definitionVolatility
Volatility is how much and how fast a price moves; crypto is far more volatile than stocks or currencies.
Read definitionTrading Basics
Bid-Ask Spread
The bid-ask spread is the gap between the highest price a buyer offers and the lowest price a seller asks.
Read definitionFunding Rate
The funding rate is a periodic payment between longs and shorts on a perpetual future that keeps it close to the spot price.
Read definitionFutures
A futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell an asset at a set price on a future date, used to bet on price moves with leverage.
Read definitionLimit Order
A limit order buys or sells only at a price you set or better, and waits in the order book until it is filled or cancelled.
Read definitionLiquidity
Liquidity is how easily an asset can be bought or sold at a stable price; a liquid coin trades in size without moving.
Read definitionMarket Order
A market order buys or sells immediately at the best available price.
Read definitionOrder Book
The order book is the live list of buy and sell orders waiting at each price on an exchange.
Read definitionPerpetual Futures
A perpetual future is a futures contract with no expiry that stays close to the spot price through regular funding payments.
Read definitionShort Selling
Short selling is taking a position that profits when the price falls, by selling a borrowed or derivative position and buying it back later.
Read definitionSlippage
Slippage is the difference between the price you expected for an order and the price it actually filled at.
Read definitionSpot Trading
Spot trading is buying or selling the actual coin at the current price, with no leverage or contract involved.
Read definitionMarket Conditions
All-Time High
An all-time high (ATH) is the highest price an asset has ever reached.
Read definitionAltcoin
An altcoin is any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin.
Read definitionBear Market
A bear market is a prolonged fall in prices, conventionally a drop of 20% or more from a high, with pessimism and falling volume.
Read definitionBitcoin Halving
The Bitcoin halving is the scheduled cut in half of the reward miners receive for each block, every 210,000 blocks, about every four years.
Read definitionBull Market
A bull market is a sustained period of rising prices and optimism, often marked by new all-time highs.
Read definitionCapitulation
Capitulation is a burst of panic selling, usually on very high volume, where holders give up and sell at heavy losses.
Read definitionDead Cat Bounce
A dead cat bounce is a short recovery in a falling market that fails and is followed by further declines.
Read definitionFOMO
FOMO, fear of missing out, is the urge to buy something because it is rising fast and everyone else seems to be profiting.
Read definitionFUD
FUD, fear, uncertainty and doubt, is negative news or rumour that spreads panic, whether or not it is true.
Read definitionHODL
HODL is crypto slang for holding a coin through price swings instead of selling, from a misspelling of “hold” in a 2013 forum post.
Read definitionSeasonality
Seasonality is a tendency for an asset to move in a similar way in the same calendar month or season year after year.
Read definitionStablecoin
A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency designed to hold a steady value, usually one US dollar.
Read definitionWhale
A whale is a person or entity holding enough of a coin that their trades can move its price.
Read definition