SMA
Simple moving average — smoothed trend line.
What it is
Simple moving average — smoothed trend line.
The simple moving average (SMA) is the arithmetic mean of the most recent N closing prices. Every observation in the window has the same weight (1/N), and once a price falls off the back of the window it stops contributing.
Because it treats today's close the same as the close N bars ago, the SMA reacts slowly to new information — it is the most lag-heavy moving average. Quants use it precisely because that lag is well-defined and easy to reason about in backtests.
Common windows are 20 (one month of daily bars), 50 (about a quarter), and 200 (about a year). Crossovers between SMAs of different lengths form the classic golden cross / death cross signals.
SMA_t = (P_t + P_{t-1} + ... + P_{t-N+1}) / NRead the full Simple moving average (SMA) definition in the glossary →
Live chart
BTC/USDT on Binance with this indicator pre-loaded. Powered by TradingView.
Chart by TradingView. Built-in study shown for illustration; the Noon Barbari engine computes its own values.
Parameters
| Parameter | Default | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Period | 20 | 2 – 800 |
Output fields
The named values this indicator exposes to your entry and exit rules.
Related strategies
Ready-made, runnable templates that use this indicator. Open one to inspect or backtest it.
SMA breakout (Donchian-style) strategy
Buy a fresh push above the 20-bar mean and trail the winner until it folds.
Blackflag FTS strategy
SuperTrend regime gates three layered Fib pullback entries — long, short, mirrored.
TradingView SuperTrend strategy
Classic ATR-band trail — long when the trend flips up, short when it flips down.
Trend Magic strategy
CCI-gated ATR ratchet — long on a bullish wick break of the trail, short on the mirror.
Prior Period Levels strategy
PDH / PDL breakouts — long above the prior day high, short below the prior day low.
SuperTrend + VFI confluence strategy
SuperTrend regime flip filtered by Volume Flow direction — only trade flips backed by volume.
Liquidity sweep reversal strategy
Equal-highs / equal-lows mark stop pools — fade the sweep when liquidity gets grabbed.
PDH/PDL breakout with SuperTrend filter strategy
Prior-day-range breakouts, but only the ones that align with the SuperTrend regime.
Learn more on the blog
Deep-dive articles explaining this indicator and how to trade it.
EMA vs SMA: which actually wins on crypto?
Everyone has an opinion. Few have run the numbers. Here's the head-to-head on 4h BTC/USDT across multiple regimes, with the formula, the trade-offs, and when to pick which.
How to backtest a moving average crossover on crypto
The golden cross is the most famous trading signal there is — and most people have never actually tested it. Here's how to backtest a moving average crossover properly.
Moving averages, explained from scratch (SMA, EMA, WMA)
The single most overused — and most misunderstood — indicator in trading. Here's what moving averages actually do, what the flavours mean, and how to use them without fooling yourself.
Backtest this indicator
Drop this indicator into a rule-set, run it over years of BTC/USDT data, and see whether the edge is real or just curve-fit — no credit card required.