EMA or SMA — which moving average is better for trading?

Neither is universally better; they trade lag against noise. The EMA weights recent prices more, reacts faster, and whipsaws more in chop. The SMA is slower and smoother, entering trends later but generating fewer false signals. In crossover systems the choice matters less than the lengths chosen and the regime the market is in.

When we backtested both across coins, the performance difference between EMA and SMA versions of the same crossover was usually smaller than the difference between coins or between parameter lengths — evidence that traders overweight this choice. Test both on your market; expect the answer to be 'similar'.