Systems tested

MACD crossover on XRP: $1,000 → $17,841, and the catch

Since 2018, MACD crossover would have turned $1,000 into $17,841 on XRP.

The late 1970s.

Money manager Gerald Appel invented the MACD.

Today it's on almost every chart in the world.

The rules
Lines. MACD: the 12-day minus the 26-day exponential average. The signal line: its own 9-day average.
In. MACD crosses above the signal line: buy, with the whole account.
Out. It crosses back below: sell everything, sit in cash.

Daily candles · May 2018 – Nov 2026 · fees 0.1% a trade included

What we found

$1,000 on XRP, 2018

$17,841

Just holding

+18%

Beat just holding, all 29 markets

10 of 29

Smaller worst drop than holding

27 of 29

Can we make it better?

We wrote down 19 changes before testing, and picked the one that did best on the first 70% of each market's history, across all 29: only above the zero line.

Then the real test: XRP after Apr 2024, data it never saw.

The original rules

+45%

Only above the zero line

+291%

Just holding

+101%

It held up on 10 of 29 markets.

Free account

The full test

Every market, the whole period against just holding, and after the cut: the original, the change, holding. Plus all 19 changes.

Sign in free to see all 29 markets and all 19 changes. Just your email, no card.

See the full test →

A setup is a starting point, not a verdict.

Other candles, stops, filters, your own coin: test every change on real data, before you risk a cent.

Test your own version

Past results, measured on real data with fees included. No promise of future returns. This is not investment advice.