A few words on the danger of repainting and indicators

WhaleCalls
3 min readSep 11, 2023

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The term “repainting” comes from the behavior that occurs when certain tools or technical indicators change their previously displayed outputs and appearance when new market data becomes available, effectively altering the signal by rewriting history after the fact.

Repainting is a significant issue for traders who rely on technical indicators to make trading decisions on TradingView. Some of the indicators on the platform suffer from this issue, which can lead to false signals and misinterpretations of the market, resulting in significant losses for traders.

The Zigzag indicator is one example of an indicator that suffers from repainting on TradingView. This indicator helps traders identify trends by connecting peaks and valleys in the market. However, the indicator repaints itself when new peaks or valleys are formed, which can result in false signals. This can cause traders to enter a position based on a signal, only to find that the signal changes after the fact, resulting in a loss.

Another indicator on TradingView that suffers from repainting is the SuperTrend indicator. This indicator helps traders identify trends and generate buy and sell signals. However, the indicator repaints itself when the market changes direction, which can lead to false signals and losses for traders. This can cause traders to enter a position based on a signal, only to find that the signal changes, resulting in a loss.

Traders have criticized TradingView’s testing tools for not being sophisticated enough to evaluate indicators for repainting. While the platform offers a basic backtesting tool that allows traders to test their strategies against historical data, some traders argue that the tool does not adequately account for repainting, leading to inaccurate results. This can make it difficult for traders to rely on backtesting to evaluate the effectiveness of their trading strategies.

The negative effects of repainting can have a significant impact on trading strategies, as traders often rely on multiple indicators to make trading decisions. If one of these indicators repaints, it can have a domino effect on the trader’s overall strategy, resulting in significant losses. To mitigate the negative effects of repainting and inadequate testing tools, traders and analysts should thoroughly test indicators using more sophisticated testing tools outside of TradingView. This can involve backtesting the indicators using historical data and programming languages like Python, which allows for more precise testing and analysis of indicators.

In conclusion, repainting is a significant issue for traders who rely on technical indicators to make trading decisions on TradingView. Traders can mitigate the negative effects of repainting and inadequate testing tools by using more sophisticated testing tools outside of TradingView and being vigilant when it comes to repainting. By doing so, traders can make more informed decisions and avoid losses resulting from false signals.

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WhaleCalls
WhaleCalls

Written by WhaleCalls

crypto market analysis. Only facts. No mess. http://whalecalls.io

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