MetenaGolden cross and death cross on bitcoin
A crossover where a short moving average (often 50 days) moves above a long one (often 200 days). Read as a sign of an uptrend, with some lag.
Definition
A golden cross is the 50-day moving average crossing above the 200-day average. The opposite crossover is called a death cross.
Both averages are calculated on the past, so the crossover arrives after the move. It confirms a trend already in place more than it announces one, and gives false signals when the price swings without direction.
How to read the chart
The faint line is the bitcoin price on a logarithmic scale. The green line is the 50-day average, the thick grey one the 200-day average.
Gold dots mark golden crosses, red dots death crosses.
Worked example
Since 2019, bitcoin has had 17 crossovers. The golden cross of 21 May 2020 (price $9,069) came before the rise into 2021. The death cross of 25 March 2020 came at $6,677, after a fall of more than 35% had already happened. The latest golden cross dates from 8 September 2026, at $78,456.
In Metena
A moving-average crossover can be written as a condition in a Metena strategy, for example “50-day average above the 200-day average”, then tested in the backtest.
Notify me at launchRelated terms
- Moving average (SMA, EMA)
- The average price over a given period: it smooths out noise and brings out the trend. The EMA gives more weight to recent prices.
- MACD
- An indicator that compares two exponential moving averages to spot a change in trend. A bullish crossover suggests strengthening momentum.
- Backtest
- Replaying a strategy on past data to measure what it would have delivered. Useful for testing rules, but the past does not predict the future.
- RSI
- A momentum indicator between 0 and 100. Above 70 it is often called overbought; below 30, oversold. It is a reference point, never a buy signal on its own.
Put these ideas into practice.
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Notify me at launchEducational content. It is not investment advice. Crypto-assets carry a high risk that can go as far as the total loss of capital.