MACD zero line cross
When the MACD line crosses above zero, the 12 EMA has moved above the 26 EMA and short-term momentum has turned positive. It confirms a trend rather than catching the turn.
Watch it play out
Replay plays a setup this strategy already finished and stops so you can call it. Live watches for the next one on Bitcoin (BTC-USD, 1-minute candles). Either way a setup is marked only when a candle closes, then it's locked and plays out to its target or its stop. Nothing to trade here.
How the live chart applies the rules
- 1-minute candles. The chart runs every strategy on 1-minute Bitcoin candles from Coinbase, whatever timeframe the strategy page suggests. Times are New York time.
- Closed candles only. Levels, triggers and stops are read when a candle closes. Entry is that candle's close.
- One setup at a time. While a setup is playing out, the same strategy doesn't start another.
- Sensible risk only. A setup counts only if its stop is between a quarter and 6 times the average candle range (ATR 14) from entry (wider for session-range strategies), and its target is at least 0.75R away.
- How a setup ends. At its target or its stop. If one candle touches both, the stop counts. A setup also ends at any exit its page names, and after 120 candles (longer for trend and session strategies) if nothing is hit.
- Replays. A replay plays the latest setup this strategy finished on the live chart's recent history, sped up. It's the same setup the live chart confirmed, with the same entry, stop and result. If the strategy hasn't finished one recently, the replay uses example candles and says so.
- The trading day. A day runs 6:00 PM to 6:00 PM ET, like futures. VWAP restarts at 6:00 PM, and "yesterday" means the last full trading day.
How MACD zero line cross works
- 1Where's the level?
- The zero line of the MACD (12, 26, 9).
- 2What's the trigger?
- A candle closes with the MACD line crossing above zero while it is also above its signal line (below zero and below the signal for shorts).
- 3Where is it wrong?
- Beyond the extreme of the last 6 closed candles.
- 4Where does it end?
- 2 times the risk.
- Markets
- Futures, Stocks, Forex, Crypto
- Timeframes
- 5m to 1d
- Sessions
- Any
- Also called
- MACD centerline cross
What it means
When the MACD line crosses above zero, the 12 EMA has moved above the 26 EMA and short-term momentum has turned positive. It confirms a trend rather than catching the turn.
How it is confirmed without repainting
MACD is calculated from closed candles, so a cross that appears and disappears inside one candle never counts.
When it fails
Choppy, sideways markets where MACD hovers around zero and crosses back and forth.
Education only. Prop Firm Duel does not provide trade signals or financial advice. This page explains how the strategy is commonly defined. Past results never guarantee future results.
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