Reading 1-second candles

On a coin that launched three minutes ago, a 1-hour chart is one candle. Trenchers use 1-second, 15-second and 1-minute timeframes instead.

The basics of a candle

Each candle shows four prices for its time window: open, high, low, close. Green means it closed higher than it opened. Red means lower. The thin lines (wicks) show how far the price went before coming back.

What 1-second candles show well

• Who is buying. A run of many small green candles is many buyers. One huge green candle is usually one wallet.
• Sell walls. Long upper wicks at the same level mean someone sells every time the price gets there.
• Bot activity. Perfectly regular candles, same size, same rhythm, are often a volume bot.

What they hide

At 1 second, every coin looks exciting. Zoom out to 1 minute or 5 minutes before you buy. A coin that looks like it is pumping on 1s can be a small bounce in a downtrend on 1m.

Patterns worth knowing

• The straight line. A chart that climbs in an almost perfect line with no red candles is rarely organic. It is often bundled supply being walked up before a dump. See Exhibit 017.
• Higher lows. Each dip stops above the last one. Buyers are stepping in earlier each time. A good sign while it lasts.
• The big red candle. One candle that wipes out the last ten minutes of gains. Check the trades tab: if it was the dev or a top holder, it is usually not a dip to buy.