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Bitcoin Radar · Bollinger · as of 01 Nov 2026 close

Bitcoin Bollinger: Close above upper band Bearish

First daily close over the upper band (%B > 1). Below: the 1 week, 1 month and 3 months after every initial trigger since 06 Sep 2011.

Current %B
0.15
Median next 1 week
+2.6%
Median next 1 month
+6.1%
Median next 3 months
+24.0%
Occurrences
210

About this signal

Close above upper band is a bearish Bollinger signal: First daily close over the upper band (%B > 1).

Bollinger Bands wrap a 20-day simple moving average with lines two standard deviations above and below it. Band width expands in volatile markets and contracts in quiet ones.

Formula. Middle = SMA(20); Upper = Middle + 2 x StdDev(20); Lower = Middle - 2 x StdDev(20); %B = (Close - Lower) / (Upper - Lower).

"Close above upper band" is a bearish Bollinger signal: First daily close over the upper band (%B > 1). On the 210 occasions it first turned on since 19 Dec 2011, the median return over the next 30 days was +6.1% (mean +17.1%, 61% positive) against a baseline median of +2.9%, a median edge of +3.1%. The 1-week median was +2.6% (61% positive) and the 3-month median +24.0% (66% positive).

Forward returns after "Close above upper band"

Bitcoin close-to-close returns after the initial trigger (first close after the condition turned on) for Close above upper band, versus the unconditional baseline.
HorizonnMedianMeanWin rateBestWorstBaselineEdge
1 week210+2.6%+5.3%61%+97.4%-44.8%+0.7%+1.9%
1 month210+6.1%+17.1%61%+321.5%-48.0%+2.9%+3.1%
3 months208+24.0%+62.8%66%+1274.8%-59.8%+10.3%+13.7%

Most recent times the signal turned on

Latest 12 trigger dates (first close after the condition turned on) and realised Bitcoin returns. "Pending" means the horizon has not elapsed.
Close dateBTC closeNext 1 weekNext 1 monthNext 3 months
21 Sep 2026$86,587-3.6%-3.0%pending
19 Aug 2026$69,298+14.0%+16.7%pending
21 Jul 2026$66,519-4.0%+9.8%+23.0%
05 May 2026$80,913-0.5%-21.1%-21.6%
16 Mar 2026$74,876-5.3%-0.1%-12.2%
04 Mar 2026$72,691-3.4%-7.9%-8.3%
13 Jan 2026$95,366-7.4%-30.6%-21.9%
02 Jan 2026$89,952+0.6%-14.5%-25.6%
02 Oct 2025$120,612+0.9%-8.8%-27.5%
11 Sep 2025$115,533+1.4%-4.1%-20.3%
13 Aug 2025$123,360-7.4%-5.9%-16.5%
10 Jul 2025$116,031+2.8%+0.4%+6.3%

Distribution of outcomes

Histogram of Bitcoin's forward returns after this signal. The vertical axis is the number of triggers; the horizontal axis is close-to-close return, compressed so large outliers do not hide the typical range. Bars left of zero are losses, right are gains.

1 week

Count

Forward return (compressed scale)

1 month

Count

Forward return (compressed scale)

3 months

Count

Forward return (compressed scale)

Methodology

  • Data. Bitcoin (BTC/USD) daily closes from Bitstamp, 18 Aug 2011 to 01 Nov 2026 (5555 closes). One exchange, one series, no splicing.
  • Trigger evaluation. Evaluated strictly on the initial daily close when the signal condition turns active (the first close after being inactive). Consecutive ongoing closes are excluded to prevent signal dilution and sample clustering.
  • Forward return. For horizon h in {7, 30, 90} days: close[t + h] / close[t] - 1, both daily closes. Indicators use data up to and including close[t], so there is no lookahead.
  • Statistics. Tables show the median return because Bitcoin's return distribution is right-skewed; the mean is on hover (and in the detailed columns). Also published: occurrence count n, win rate (share of positive returns), and the unconditional Bitcoin baseline over the same horizon. Edge = median minus baseline median. Signals with fewer than 3 occurrences are omitted.
  • Caveats. Rare signals have small samples. External series start later than price (Fear & Greed 2018). Open interest and long/short ratios are excluded because no reliable multi-year history exists.
  • Refresh. Recomputed once per day after the 00:00 UTC close. Last computed 2 Nov 2026 00:10 UTC.