What is EMA death cross? — chart signal explained
This signal watches how two recency-weighted moving averages (EMAs) — one spanning 20 candles, one spanning 50 — sit relative to each other. Fast line above slow line is generally taken as an up-leaning market; fast below slow, a down-leaning one.
When does it fire? — BaroBara criteria
It fires on the first candle where the 20-candle EMA slips below the 50-candle EMA, after sitting at or above it on the previous candle.
How traders usually read it
With the short-term trend dipping under the long-term one, it's widely read as a warning that the broader direction may be turning down. It's well-known enough that 'death cross' headlines regularly make the financial news.
What to watch out for
It shows up late, only after a sizable decline — so it's not rare for the signal to coincide with a short-term bottom. If the drop ends quickly, a golden cross follows soon after, and that round trip can hurt you on both sides.
What the data actually shows (BTC 1h)
The common reading is a drop — but what actually happened matters more. This signal has fired 213 times on BTC 1h; across the most recent 213, price reached the small target (+0.25%) first about 53% of the time. Widen the target to ±1% and it becomes about 51%. A historical probability, not a guaranteed direction — and it shifts with market regime.
Odds and expected value — with symmetric target and stop (±)
Exactly the barobara framing: which side got hit first, +X% or −X%. Target and stop are set to the same %, and the win rate is how often the upside (+X%) was reached first.
| Target = stop (±) | Win rate (+ first) | EV (before fees) |
|---|---|---|
| ±0.25% | 53% | +0.02% |
| ±0.5% | 56% | +0.06% |
| ±0.75% | 54% | +0.06% |
| ±1% | 51% | +0.02% |
| ±1.5% | 46% | -0.12% |
| ±2% | 46% | -0.16% |
Broken down by market regime
⚠️ This table uses a different basis than the symmetric (±) table above — a small +0.25% target with a wide −2.5% stop (fees included). The small target makes the win rate look high while EV is often negative — exactly what signal groups hide. And the same signal behaves differently across regimes.
| Regime | Win rate (+0.25% target) | EV (−2.5% stop) | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bear market | 88% | -0.12% | N=58 |
| Sideways | 84% | -0.17% | N=68 |
| Bull market | 91% | -0.07% | N=79 |
Recent occurrences
How far price actually moved the last few times this signal fired (MFE = maximum favorable excursion).
| Date | MFE | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-13 | 1.11% | ✅ hit |
| 2026-05-15 | 3.25% | ✅ hit |
| 2026-05-24 | 0.0% | — |
| 2026-05-26 | 0.92% | ✅ hit |
| 2026-05-31 | 3.86% | ✅ hit |
| 2026-06-09 | 3.89% | ✅ hit |
| 2026-06-14 | 0.21% | — 🔴 stopped |
| 2026-06-17 | 0.33% | ✅ hit 🔴 stopped |
A free morning briefing: market heat & chart combos — honest odds, not predictions