Glossary

Crypto trading, in plain language.

The terms that actually matter for disciplined crypto investing, defined clearly and without jargon. No hype, no filler, just what each one means and why it matters.

Signals & market structure

4-hour timeframe: The 4-hour timeframe groups price into four-hour periods, filtering out short-term noise so trend changes are clearer and decisions are less frequent.
Choppiness(ranging market): Choppiness describes a sideways, directionless market that swings inside a range without establishing a clear trend. It is where trend-following approaches tend to lose.
Market structure: Market structure is the pattern of highs, lows, and participation that shows whether buyers or sellers are in control, independent of any single price.
Moving average: A moving average smooths price into a single line that tracks its average over a recent window, making the underlying direction easier to see.
Support and resistance: Support is a price area where buyers have repeatedly stepped in; resistance is an area where sellers have repeatedly taken control. Both mark where pressure tends to shift.
Trading signal: A trading signal is a clear instruction to buy, sell, or wait, produced by a defined set of rules rather than by emotion or guesswork.
Trading volume: Trading volume is how much of an asset changed hands in a period. It shows the conviction behind a move: strong moves usually come with strong participation.
Trend following: Trend following is the approach of trading in the direction an asset is already moving, aiming to stay with a move rather than predict its top or bottom.
Volatility: Volatility measures how much and how quickly a price moves. High volatility means large, fast swings; low volatility means calmer, narrower movement.

Trading & execution

API key: An API key is a credential that lets an app connect to your exchange account. A trade-only key can place orders but can never withdraw your funds.
Automated trading: Automated trading lets software place trades on your behalf according to predefined rules, through trade-only exchange access, so execution does not depend on you being present.
Buy and hold: Buy and hold is the strategy of buying an asset and keeping it through market ups and downs, betting on long-term appreciation rather than timing.
Dollar-cost averaging(DCA): Dollar-cost averaging is investing a fixed amount at regular intervals regardless of price, which smooths out the average entry and removes the pressure to time the market.
Leverage: Leverage means trading with borrowed funds to control a larger position than your capital alone would allow. It magnifies both gains and losses.
Liquidation: Liquidation is the forced closure of a leveraged position by the exchange when losses threaten the borrowed funds, often turning a temporary dip into a permanent loss.
Non-custodial: Non-custodial means a service never holds your funds. Your assets stay in your own exchange account or wallet, and the service cannot withdraw them.
Slippage: Slippage is the difference between the price you expected on a trade and the price you actually got, usually caused by fast markets or thin liquidity.
Spot trading: Spot trading means buying or selling an asset for immediate ownership at the current price, using only your own funds, with no borrowing and no expiry.
Stop loss: A stop loss is a price decided in advance at which you exit a losing position to cap the loss, taking the decision out of the heat of the moment.

Performance & risk

Backtesting: Backtesting runs a trading strategy against historical data to see how it would have performed, providing evidence about its behaviour before risking real money.
Compound annual growth rate(CAGR): CAGR is the steady yearly rate at which an investment would have grown to its final value, which makes multi-year returns comparable on an annual basis.
Drawdown: Drawdown is the decline from a peak to a low point in an account or strategy, usually shown as a percentage. It measures the worst pain endured along the way.
Position trading: Position trading holds trades for days to months to capture larger trends, with far fewer decisions than day trading and much less screen time.
Profit factor: Profit factor is the total of a strategy’s winning trades divided by the total of its losing trades. Above 1 means it made money; the higher, the more efficient.
Win rate: Win rate is the percentage of trades that ended in a profit. On its own it can mislead: a low win rate can still be very profitable if the wins are large.

Get started

Start with Bitcoin. It's free.

Download Crypto Wealth and receive your first Bitcoin signal via push notification. No account, no credit card, no commitment. Upgrades are available inside the app whenever you're ready.

Clear buy & sell signals from market structure

Bitcoin signals, free forever, no trial

Reduced noise through rule-based generation

A calm, focused interface for decisions