A crypto price chart is a visual display of how a currency pair moves over a selected period. Price sits on the vertical axis and time on the horizontal axis. Traders use these charts to track market moves, spot patterns, and study possible trends before building a trading plan.
The source material breaks crypto market charts into three common formats: candlestick charts, line charts, and bar charts. All three are built from the same market data, but they present that data in different ways. On the CEX.IO Trade page, only candlestick charts are available. On CEX.IO Broker, users can access all 3 chart types.
Candlestick charts show the full open-high-low-close picture
Candlestick charts are described in the source as the most widely used chart format in trading. Each candle represents one unit of time based on the selected timeframe, such as hourly, daily, or weekly. On a daily chart, one candlestick stands for one trading day.
Each candle uses color to show price direction. A green candle marks a price increase, while a red candle marks a price decrease. The material states that every candlestick includes four key data points: opening price, closing price, high price, and low price. On a green candle, the opening price is at the lower left of the body and the closing price is at the upper right. On a red candle, that layout is reversed.
If the high is above the candle body, it appears as a wick extending upward. If the low is below the body, it appears as a wick extending downward. The source adds a practical note: an upper wick can suggest strong selling pressure, while a lower wick can suggest buying pressure. In that sense, wicks may help identify possible trend reversals. The article also notes that Japanese candlesticks are the most common version used in trading.
Line charts focus only on closing prices
Line charts offer a simpler view of price action. Instead of showing all intraperiod data, they plot only the closing price for each point in time and connect those points with a line.
That stripped-down structure gives traders a cleaner view of direction because it removes much of the short-term noise and extreme price swings that occur within each period. According to the source, line charts can be selected on the CEX.IO Broker page through the chart type dropdown menu located next to the time period selector above the chart.
Bar charts display OHLC data in a different visual format
Bar charts are made up of vertical price bars, with each bar representing price movement during a chosen time interval. Like candlestick charts, bar charts display the asset’s open, high, low, and close.
The top of the vertical bar marks the high price and the bottom marks the low price. A short horizontal line extending from the left side shows the opening price, while the short line on the right side shows the closing price. The source says the color logic matches candlestick charts: if the opening marker on the left is below the closing marker on the right, the bar is green and price increased during that period. If the opening marker is above the closing marker, the bar is red and price fell.
Bar charts are also available on the CEX.IO Broker platform, using the same chart type dropdown placed above the price chart next to timeframe selection.
These chart types serve different reading styles rather than different data sets. Candlesticks provide the richest detail, line charts offer the cleanest outline, and bar charts present the same OHLC information in another structure. The best choice depends on whether the trader wants simplicity or more complete price detail.