ON-CHAIN ANALYSIS BASICS

Plain English

Crypto's killer feature for analysts: every transaction is public. On-chain analysis reads the blockchain directly to spot whale movements, exchange flows, and miner behavior — signals invisible in traditional markets.

Going deeper

Tools like Glassnode, CryptoQuant, and Nansen aggregate on-chain data into actionable indicators. Key metrics: exchange inflows (rising = potential selling), MVRV (price vs realized cost basis, extremes mark cycle tops/bottoms), SOPR (profit/loss ratio of moved coins), and miner reserves (declining = miners selling). Whale wallets can be tracked by address; movement of large dormant balances often precedes major price action. Combine on-chain with technical and macro signals — never trade off one indicator alone.

Examples