A Wild BART Appears

Introducing BART

A BART is a charting pattern that is most often seen in the crypto markets. BART patterns are most frequently characterized by a sharp surge in the price of an asset followed by a period of consolidation before a final, rapid decline in price. BART makes most of his appearances on intraday time frames, although BART has been known to appear over longer durations from time to time. If it is not already obvious as to why we call this price formation BART, it is because it shows an eerie resemblance to that of Bart Simpson.

No one knows when the first BART pattern was observed in crypto markets, but many believe it was sometime in 2017. However, the pattern became much more common in 2018. This was likely due to the increasing use of leverage combined with an increased volatility regime in the crypto markets during that time.

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If a BART is comprised of a surge in price, how is the surge initiated? One factor might be a sudden increase in demand for an asset. A sudden increase in demand may be caused by recently released news about the asset, a simple increase in trading activity, or a short squeeze (very common in crypto markets). Another factor that can cause a surge in price might be a sudden decrease in supply. A decrease in supply may be caused by a number of factors, such as a whale finally exiting a large selling position or a large number of market participants leaving the market via a liquidation event (very common in crypto markets).

Many conclude that BART patterns are a sign of manipulation in crypto markets, namely due to the relative illiquidity of crypto markets and what that means for large, sophisticated market participants. However, it is important to note that BART patterns can (and are) be caused by natural market forces, like degenerate s