Meet the chart

A chart shows how an asset's price changes over time. Read it left to right: prices go from oldest to newest.

ChartingPark uses TradingView. As you learn more about trading, you may encounter other charting platforms, such as MetaTrader or TradeStation. They may look different, but the basic principles remain the same.

The shapes in the chart are called candles. Each candle shows how the price moved during a specific period, such as one day or one hour. You do not need to understand candles yet. The next chapters explain them step by step.

In the top-left corner of the chart, you can see the asset the chart represents. In this example, the chart shows Bitcoin paired with the U.S. dollar (BTC/USD). The 1D label is the interval and means each candle covers one day. At the bottom, the time axis shows date and time, while the price axis on the right shows price levels.

Now explore the chart. Zoom in to examine a shorter period, then zoom out to reveal more. Notice how the candles become wider or narrower. Zooming changes how much price history you can see, but each candle still covers one day.