Historical level
Also called: historical support and resistance, old level, historical support, historical resistance
A historical level is the fifth of the eleven level types in the ChartThread course. It is a level price met before, sometimes years ago, and it is not a new kind of event. It is one of the events you already know, seen from far away. Like every level in the course it is one exact price, taken from the high or low of the candle that formed it.
Which events make a historical level
A historical level can be:
- a trend-change level, where a big move stopped and turned;
- a false-breakout level, where price went beyond a high or low and closed back;
- a limit-player level, where a big limit player held one price again and again.
It can also be an all-time high or an all-time low. All players see these visually, and extremes are rarely broken on the first attempt.
What makes a historical level good
What matters is what happened after the level formed. It is good if price did not saw through it: no breakouts back and forth, no long tails on both sides, no closes above and below again and again. A sawed-through level is still drawn correctly, but nobody defends it any more.
On a real market. Ethereum’s perpetual contract set an all-time high of 4,877.54 on 10 November 2021, then fell 82% to 878.04 by 18 June 2022. From January 2022 to 8 August 2025 the highest price was 4,109.99, so nothing could saw through the level. In August 2025 price came back three times and could not close a day above it.
How far back to look
- Look back six months on the daily chart. This is usually enough.
- If there is no level there, or no trading in this price range in six months, switch to the weekly or monthly chart.
- Name the event and its forming candle.
- Count the crossings after it formed.
On 13 August 2025 Ethereum was at 4,748.37 and the highest price in six months was 4,070.00, so the daily chart had nothing to the left. The weekly chart showed one week in November 2021 with a high of 4,877.54.
Example. A share trades at 80.00 and its highest price in six months is 72.00. The daily chart has no history at this price. The monthly chart shows a high of 84.00 from three years ago, followed by a long fall, and price has not traded above 75.00 since. 84.00 is an untouched historical level.
Historical levels in this course
The stop at a historical level is sized like any other: 10% of the daily average true range. With Ethereum’s ATR of 228.70 before 14 August 2025, that was 22.87 beyond 4,877.54. The full lesson is historical levels; the lookback rule comes from why levels come from the daily chart, and the crossing check from sawed-through levels.
Questions about historical level
Do old support and resistance levels still work?
They can. Age does not matter; what happened at the price since it formed does. A four-year-old high that nobody touched since is cleaner than a three-week-old level that price has crossed eight times.
How far back should you look for levels?
Six months of the daily chart is usually enough. If there is no level there, or no trading at all in this price range in six months, move to the weekly or the monthly chart, which show years of history on one screen.
When is a historical level no longer usable?
When it was sawed through: price crossed it again and again with closes on both sides, or left long tails and penetrations around it. It may be drawn correctly, but it must be confirmed again, best by an exact touch, or at least by a false breakout.
Is an all-time high a historical level?
Yes. An all-time high or all-time low is a historical level that every player sees, and extremes are rarely broken on the first attempt.