MetenaMACD: definition, calculation and bitcoin example
An indicator that compares two exponential moving averages to spot a change in trend. A bullish crossover suggests strengthening momentum.
Definition
The MACD line is the gap between a short exponential moving average (12 days) and a long one (26 days). When positive, recent prices are above the longer trend. The signal line is the 9-day average of the MACD line, and the histogram measures the gap between the two.
The MACD line crossing above the signal is often read as bullish momentum, the reverse as fading momentum. In a market without a trend, these crossovers multiply and contradict each other.
How to read the chart
At the top, the bitcoin price over a year. At the bottom, the MACD line (green), the signal line (gold) and the histogram: green when MACD is above the signal, red below.
Values are in dollars, because MACD is a gap between two price averages.
Worked example
From 8 October 2025 to 7 October 2026, bitcoin’s MACD crossed its signal line 29 times, on average every twelve days. At the end of June 2026, four crossovers came in five days, with no clear trend.
In Metena
MACD is one of the indicators a condition in your Metena strategy can use. The backtest shows what the condition actually changes.
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.
- 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.
- Golden cross
- 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.
- Bollinger Bands
- An envelope drawn around a moving average, two standard deviations wide. It shows whether the price is unusually high or low given its recent volatility.
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.