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A few days ago, @cryptomonk asked on his Twitter account which technical indicators could have convinced traders to sell at the Bitcoin top in April 2021. Here is a selection of the best answers.

The RSI (Relative Strength Index) indicator

RSI divergences on high time units are particularly reliable and there was no exception during the bitcoin bull run earlier this year. From the first peak on February 21, 2021, a divergence of the RSI was visible in daily. The other two peaks, on March 13, 2021 and April 13, 2021, accentuated the divergence. In the end it was a very long bearish divergence of the RSI that we could see building up little by little over several months. The price of Bitcoin was then above $56,000.

The MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence) indicator

The MACD is constructed from exponential moving averages and has two lines, the MACD and the signal line. An upward crossing of the MACD with the signal line means that we have a buy signal, and a downward crossing means that we have a sell signal. And this is exactly what was observed during the candle of the week of April 19, 2021. The price of Bitcoin was then above $48,000.

The Pi Cycle Top indicator

The Pi Cycle Top is a technical indicator much less known than the two previous ones. But it has the merit of having indicated the highest points of the last 3 big bitcoin bull runs! It consists of two lines, a yellow one corresponding to a MA111, and a green one corresponding to 2MA350. It is a very long term indicator that can only be used in daily trading. An upward crossing of the yellow line with the green line indicates a sell signal. The price of Bitcoin was then over $60,000!

And you, which technical indicators pushed you to sell at the top of bitcoin prices? Which ones prevented you from doing so? Share them in comments so everyone can be better armed during the next bull run 😉

When you start in crypto trading, you have to learn a lot of things, and very quickly. First you need to master the basics of trading (see our articles about trading), then fundamental analysis and technical analysis, and finally you need to build a strategy and apply it while managing your emotions and risk.

Anyone who discovers a new field makes mistakes, and trading is no exception. The only problem is that in trading, mistakes are expensive, literally. An interesting solution is therefore to practice with a virtual portfolio, or dummy portfolio, with simulations. Here is a short overview of what crypto’s virtual trading is, and its advantages.

What is a virtual portfolio?

Many trading platforms offer virtual portfolios. On Botcrypto for example, you can create a virtual portfolio with a virtual $10,000, and pretend it is your first investment in cryptocurrencies. You will be able to buy Bitcoin (BTC), but also Ethereum (ETH) and other Altcoins like Ripple (XRP), or Dogecoin (DOGE). You will be able to see the evolution of your funds and investments in complete security, and discover trading by practice!

Managing your emotions

You probably already know that cryptocurrency is a highly volatile asset. At the time of this writing, Ripple (XRP) for example has taken more than 100% in 2 days.

Knowing how to manage your emotions is essential in trading, and even more so in cryptos. You must avoid panic and euphoria at all costs, but also FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), the fear of “missing the train”. Trading with a virtual wallet allows you to feel these emotions, to understand what it feels like to have “missed the train”. If you see from one day to the next that your portfolio, even virtual, only takes 10% while another asset has taken more than 100%, you quickly feel this sensation, this “if I had done that, I would already be rich“. And you can tame it to control it.

Hold on the long term

It is often said that 90% of stock market traders don’t last more than 6 months, and the number is surely the same in the cryptos. That’s why learning about trading only a few days before investing and trading all your savings is a bad idea. It is also necessary to pay attention to successes. Just because you win in the first week doesn’t mean you’re a good trader. The important thing is to keep the distance. To be profitable 1 year, 2 years, even 5 years later. Training with virtual portfolios is the possibility to see your virtual capital evolve over several months or even years, and prove that you can hold on the long term.

Testing new strategies

Finally, virtual trading is the possibility to test new strategies in complete security. You are an experienced trader, with a strategy that works, but you want to experiment with new indicators, or even a new strategy? Backtests and simulations will be your best friends to save time, and quickly and safely evaluate if your strategy is interesting.

So obviously, some will say that it is not the same to trade with a virtual portfolio compared to real funds. And I completely agree. With real funds, emotions are multiplied. But virtual trading, if applied correctly and with good will, allows a first complete immersion in trading, and thus safely accelerates one’s learning of crypto trading.

If you want to learn crypto and bitcoin trading, botcrypto is for you! You can create virtual portfolios easily before getting down to business. Everything is explained in the video below.

Dear readers,

France is now running into its second lockdown due to COVID-19. So I offer you to leverage your time during this period to learn and improve your knowledge and trading skills with the LOCKDOWN Contest. It’s a playful and useful activity for everybody expecting to make money with automated trading in the future.

We organize a special trading contest during the whole lockdown period on botcrypto.io. As other trading contest, it’s free and without risk. Challengers will compete to increase as much as possible their virtual wallets on actual crypto markets.

It’s a great opportunity to learn about trading, discover technical indicators, testing strategies and be ready to start trading for real afterward.

You can register for free now → https://botcrypto.io/contest/5

We wish you to challenge yourself making your time as much profitable as possible during this period!

After the LOCKDOWN Contest, we will interview the challengers and share our best feedbacks with our community on Discord.

Gold, Silver & Bronze subscriptions will be granted to the first, second and third users in the ranking.

Thanks for the reading. I wish good luck and good health!

Keltner channels (KC) indicator, or Keltner bands, consists of an upper envelope above a halfway line and a lower envelope below the halfway line. Price moves in relation to these bands give many indications in the manner of Bollinger bands. You can use this indicator in your crypto trading bots on Botcrypto.

How to interpret Keltner bands?

The main occurrences to look for when using Keltner channels are breaks above the upper envelope or below the lower envelope.

A break above the top envelope means that the market is overbought. Conversely, a breakthrough below the lower envelope means that the market is oversold.

Where there is no trend, breaks can generally lead to corrections such that the price moves back towards the median line.

During an uptrend, a breakthrough above the upper envelope can be seen as a sign of strength and the uptrend is likely to continue.

Conversely, during a downtrend, a breakthrough under the lower envelope can be seen as a sign of strength and the downward trend is likely to continue.

It is best to use Keltner channels with additional technical analysis tools. In addition, historical analysis is useful to determine the best parameters when setting up the indicator. Indeed, depending on the markets, the multiplier can be different to adjust the width of the bands or envelopes.

How to calculate Keltner channels ?

• Halfway line : exponential moving average of close prices
• Up ligne : halfway line + X * ATR
• Down line : halfway line – X * ATR

X = Multiplier parameter
ATR = exponential moving average of True Range

References :
– Keltner channels on TradingView
– Keltner channels on Investopedia