Indicators step by step
Every indicator in Binance's chart menu taken apart: how it is computed candle by candle, what its settings change, how to switch it on and what it is – and is not – good for. With interactive charts, videos and a pinch of humour.
5 modules · 21 lessons · 88 min
Risk warning
This course is educational and is not investment advice. Trading crypto is highly risky – you can lose all the money you put in. Read the risk warning
Who it is for
Traders who know the chart and the basic orders and want to understand the lines on it instead of following them blindly.
What you will learn
- Compute and explain SMA, EMA, Bollinger Bands, RSI, MACD, the stochastic and ATR by hand
- Switch on and set every indicator in Binance's menu and know its defaults
- Tell trend indicators, oscillators and volume indicators apart and combine one of each
- Read divergences and conflicting signals without treating any indicator as a crystal ball
Course outline
Module 1Before you switch one on
- 1.What an indicator isAn indicator is a formula that computes a line from candles. Why it always lags behind the price, why its last value keeps moving until the candle closes, and what to expect from it – and what not to.4 min
- 2.Three families of indicatorsTrend indicators over the candles, oscillators in a panel below the chart and volume indicators. What each family measures, where you find it in the menu and why two indicators from the same family are not a double confirmation.4 min
- 3.The settings window on BinanceWhere to switch indicators on in Binance, what the Period, Close, line style and colour fields mean, why the chart has two modes with different defaults and why to write your settings into your plan.3 min
Module 2Trend on the main chart
- 4.SMA: the simple moving averageHow the simple moving average is computed, why every candle in it weighs the same, what MA(7), MA(25) and MA(99) mean on Binance and why a golden cross is not a guaranteed signal.4 min
- 5.EMA and WMA: averages that favour the newsThe exponential and weighted moving averages give new candles more weight than the simple average. How they are computed, how much sooner they react and why their speed costs more false signals.4 min
- 6.Bollinger BandsA 20-candle average and two bands two standard deviations away from it. How the bands are computed, why they inflate and deflate, what a squeeze means and why touching the upper band is not an order to sell.4 min
- 7.VWAP: the volume-weighted average priceWhy big trades have more say in the average price, how Binance computes VWAP (a window of 14 candles) and how others do (from the start of the day) and why it suits hourly and shorter charts.4 min
- 8.Parabolic SAR: dots that chase the priceHow the Parabolic SAR dots are computed, what the acceleration factor of 0.02 to 0.2 does, why the dots jump to the other side and why they hop back and forth in a market without a trend.4 min
- 9.Supertrend and ATRATR measures how big a move is normal for the market. Supertrend builds a line from it below or above the price that only moves with the trend. How both are computed and how to set Supertrend on Binance.5 min
Module 3Oscillators
- 10.RSI: the market's thermometerHow RSI is computed from the average rise and fall, why Binance's chart has three RSIs (6, 12 and 24), what 70 and 30 mean and why "overbought" does not yet mean "sell".5 min
- 11.Stochastic RSI: RSI on caffeineStochRSI is the stochastic computed from RSI instead of the price. How it is computed, what the 14, 14, 3, 3 setting on Binance means and why it swings three times as much as RSI itself.4 min
- 12.Stochastic and KDJThe stochastic oscillator asks on which floor between the low and the high of the last candles the price closed. How %K and %D are computed, what Binance's KDJ adds with its J line and why oversold can get even more oversold.4 min
- 13.Williams %R: the stochastic upside downWilliams %R measures the same as the stochastic, just on a scale from 0 to −100. How it is computed, how to switch it on on Binance, why its levels are −20 and −80 and why next to the stochastic it says nothing new.4 min
- 14.CCI: how far from normalThe Commodity Channel Index measures how far the price is from its average – in multiples of the usual deviation. How it is computed, why it has a period of 9 on Binance and 20 elsewhere, and what the ±100 levels mean.4 min
- 15.MACD: two trains and the gap between themMACD is the difference of a fast and a slow EMA, plus a signal line and a histogram. How 12, 26, 9 is computed, how to switch it on on Binance, what a cross with the signal line means – and why bitcoin made 28 of them in a year.4 min
Module 4Volume
- 16.Volume: VOLWhat a volume bar under a candle means, what the two MAVOL 7 and 14 lines on Binance are for, how volume confirms breakouts and why one exchange's volume is not the whole market's.5 min
- 17.OBV: a piggy bank for volumeOn-balance volume adds the volume of up days and subtracts the volume of down days. How it is computed step by step, why the number itself means nothing and what it reveals when OBV does not follow the price.4 min
- 18.MFI: an RSI with a walletThe Money Flow Index is computed like RSI, but instead of price changes it adds up money: the typical price times volume. How it is computed, what the 80 and 20 lines mean, why Binance shows three MFIs and how it differs from RSI.5 min
Module 5Putting it together
- 19.A clean setupOne from each family: a trend line, an oscillator and volume. How to build a readable chart, why RSI and MACD together say half the same thing and why settings belong in your trading plan, not in your mood.4 min
- 20.DivergenceThe price makes a new high, but RSI does not. What bearish and bullish divergence are, how to find one on the real Bitcoin chart from December 2024 and why it is a warning, not an order to trade.4 min
- 21.When indicators disagreeMACD says sell, RSI says overbought, the average says up. A real conflict from February 2024, how to decide in advance who has the final word, why the market regime matters – and what you take away from the whole course.5 min