Accumulation
Accumulation is a sideways channel in which a big player quietly builds a position; the energy stored there later moves price out of the channel.
The size of the channel, measured in daily ATR, hints at the exit. A small accumulation lasts more than 14 days and is narrower than 3 ATR: Ethereum spent 17 days in a channel 2.97 ATR wide in August 2026, then rose 31% in 4 days. A big accumulation lasts months and is wider than 5 ATR: Bitcoin spent 220 days in a channel 7.8 ATR wide in 2023, then rose 41% over 70 days, slowly but far.
Learn more: the four pillars of a trade and accumulation or distribution.