Trend Lengths

If you ask 10 different technical analysts what they believe to be the best trend duration to use, you most likely will get 10 different answers. However, most will agree that longer time frames, which incorporate more data are more significant given that its helps to reduce the standard deviation from the mean. Importantly, recent data is the most accurate representation of current price movement. A quality trend indicator needs to incorporate both long-term and short-term time periods.

Volatility plays a critical role in defining the ideal trend length to follow. Long-term trend periods are best for assets with low volatility, while short-trend periods are best for assets with high volatility. Since Cryptocurrencies are more volatile than equities, exponential moving averages (EMA) provide a better indicator than moving averages (MA) which tend to have more of a lag in detecting a change in trend.