Round number
Also called: round price, round level, psychological level, big figure, whole number
A round number is a price that ends in zeros: 100,000 on Bitcoin, 2,400 on Ethereum, 150 on Solana. Traders often call these psychological levels, because everyone notices them. In the ChartThread course a round number is not a level in itself. A round price is one of the signs that make a real level stronger.
When is a round number a level by itself?
Only at an all-time high or an all-time low. There, price is somewhere it has never been. There is no history to the left and no other level to draw from, so a round price is the number every trader is watching.
Everywhere else, a round number with no event behind it is not a level:
- There are other levels nearby. Below an all-time high the chart has a history, and the real levels are the prices where something happened.
- A round number is often where a false breakout ends. A push often runs out at an obvious round price. But the level is not the false breakout: the level is the price the breakout failed at.
A sign that strengthens a level
Every level first needs an event and a level-forming candle. Then come the signs that make it stronger, and one of them is simple: the price is rounded. First the event, then the signs.
On a real market. On 20 January 2025 Bitcoin’s contract set an all-time high at exactly 110,000.0 and closed 7,752.4 lower, then fell 32% to 74,457.0 by 7 April. The level is there because of that event; the round price is a sign on top. The sign did not make it unbreakable: from 21 May to 9 July 2025 price crossed 110,000 on 10 days with closes on both sides, a sawed-through level.
Do highs and lows really land on round prices?
The course tested it on the daily candles of the Binance perpetual contracts for Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, Solana and XRP, from listing to 24 October 2026, comparing highs and lows with opens and closes of the same days:
| Crypto majors, 24,586 highs and lows | Highs and lows | Opens and closes |
|---|---|---|
| Round at the second digit (like 67,000) | 1.3% | 0.2% |
| Half round at the third digit (like 67,300) | 8.5% | 2.4% |
On 11 US stocks, gold and silver the half round figures were 4.3% against 2.3%, and silver alone showed no difference. Most levels are not round numbers, and most round numbers are not levels.
Example. A fall stops at a low of exactly 2,400.00 and turns up. The level exists because the fall stopped there; the round price makes it stronger. With a daily average true range (ATR) of 100.00, the stop is 10% of it, 10.00, at 2,390.00.
Round numbers in this course
Start from the candle, and let a round price be a reason to trust a level a little more, never a reason to invent one. The full test and the Bitcoin walk-through are in round numbers, and the other strengthening signs in the full checklist.
Questions about round number
Are round numbers support and resistance?
Not by themselves. A level needs an event and a candle that formed it. When that candle’s high or low is a round number, the level gets stronger. The only place a round number is a level on its own is an all-time high or low.
Why are round numbers called psychological levels?
Because every trader can see them without drawing anything, and many put their orders there. Real data agrees a little: daily highs and lows land on round prices more often than opens and closes do. Being seen is not the same as being defended.
Should I move a level to the nearest round number?
No. The level is the exact high or low of the forming candle. A level at 1,987.40 stays at 1,987.40, and the stop is still 10% of the daily ATR beyond it, never at a round number.
How often do highs and lows land on round prices?
On 24,586 daily highs and lows of five crypto majors, 8.5% landed exactly on a half round price, against 2.4% of opens and closes. The effect is real and small: 91.5% of those highs and lows were not even half round.