Methodology
BTC Verdict aggregates eight independent signal engines into a single, explainable verdict. Everything below describes exactly how the score is computed — no black boxes.
How the verdict is computed
The pipeline runs in four stages: raw data collection, per-engine scoring, aggregation into an Action Score, and final Verdict State classification.
// Verdict Strength — sum of all signed engine contributions, clamped to ±100
VerdictStrength = clamp(|Σ engine.signed|, 0, 100)
// Opportunity Quality — weighted blend of strength, safety, and alignment
OQ = VerdictStrength×0.5 + (100 − Risk)×0.3 + Confluence×0.2
// Action Score — OQ discounted by exchange agreement
ActionScore = OQ × (Consensus / 100)
Verdict State thresholds: a score ≥ 80 with risk ≤ 50 produces a Strong Buy or Strong Sell; ≥ 60 produces a plain Buy or Sell; anything below 60, or when risk is extreme (≥ 76), resolves to Wait. The sign of the verdict follows the engine consensus direction.
The 8 signal engines
Each engine independently scores a slice of market structure. Weights are fixed and version-controlled; changing any weight increments the model version.
- Market Regime weight 15
- Identifies the current trend phase using fast (20-period) and slow (50-period) EMAs with ATR expansion/compression overlays. Determines whether price is trending, ranging, or transitioning. Accounts for 15 out of 100 maximum points.
- MTF Structure weight 25
- Multi-timeframe confluence engine. Weights the weekly (40%), daily (30%), 4-hour (20%), and 1-hour (10%) trend alignments into a single structure score. The highest-weight engine in the system — structural alignment matters most.
- BTMM Liquidity weight 20
- Bank Trading Model Methodology liquidity analysis. Identifies engineered liquidity pools, stop hunts, and institutional entry zones across timeframes to gauge where smart money is likely positioned.
- Quarter Theory weight 10
- Divides price ranges into quarterly levels (00, 25, 50, 75 psychological price points) and scores proximity to premium/discount zones. Useful for timing entries relative to institutional reference levels.
- PVSRA weight 10
- Price, Volume, Support, Resistance Analysis. Flags elevated relative volume (≥ 1.5× the 20-period average) at key structural levels as a proxy for institutional participation. High volume at support = accumulation signal; at resistance = distribution.
- VWAP weight 5
- Volume-Weighted Average Price anchored to the start of the current week and the current month (UTC). Price above both anchored VWAPs is bullish, below both is bearish, and a split reads as neutral. A lightweight but reliable institutional reference line.
- Volume Profile weight 5
- Builds a 100-candle volume profile in $500 price buckets and identifies the Point of Control (highest-volume node). Price trading above or below the POC signals directional bias relative to where the most trading activity occurred.
- Derivatives weight 10
- Synthesises perpetual funding rates, open interest, and long/short ratios from OKX and Bybit. Extreme positive funding (≥ 0.1%) flags overleveraged longs; extreme negative funding flags overleveraged shorts — both reduce the score. (Deribit options data — put/call ratio, max pain — is collected but does not yet feed the score; it arrives with the price-map features.)
Key metrics explained
Confluence
The fraction of 11 tracked factors that align with the current directional bias. Calculated as confluenceAligned / 11 × 100. A reading above 70% indicates strong multi-factor agreement.
Consensus
Weighted agreement across the three primary exchanges: Binance (40%), Coinbase (35%), and Kraken (25%). An exchange “confirms” when its price is within 0.5% of the cross-exchange reference price, compared at the same candle timestamp. The denominator is never renormalized — an unreachable or disagreeing exchange simply loses its weight, so a single exchange can never produce 100%. OKX is a hot-standby that substitutes for one unreachable primary exchange at that exchange’s weight.
Risk
A 0–100 composite of risk factors: ATR expansion (25%), distance from monthly VWAP (25%), funding rate extremes (20%), open-interest proxy (15%), and liquidation imbalance (15%). Liquidation data is not yet available from a free REST source, so its weight is currently renormalized across the other four factors. Risk ≥ 76 (Extreme) acts as a circuit breaker: the verdict resolves to Wait regardless of direction, and risk ≥ 50 blocks Strong verdicts.
Temperature
Market heat index derived from funding rates (40%), open interest proxy (35%), and the long/short skew (25%). Labels: Cold (<25), Neutral (25–50), Healthy (50–75), Hot (>75). High temperature (Hot) signals overcrowded positioning and elevated liquidation risk.
Verdict grading
Every verdict is graded at three horizons after it is issued: 1 hour, 4 hours, and 24 hours. Grading is automated — the first compute run after a horizon elapses scores the verdict against the then-current price (within a 15-minute allowance; if the system was down longer, the pair is marked ungradeable rather than scored against a stale window).
A Buy or Strong Buy verdict is graded correct when price is higher at the horizon than at verdict time. A Sell or Strong Sell is correct when price is lower. A Wait verdict is correct at the 24h horizon only when the absolute price move is ≤ 1.5% — i.e., the market did indeed go nowhere.
Track record statistics accumulate in a rolling 90-day window. Older data is compacted into daily aggregate rows to keep storage within the free tier limits.
Data sources
All price and market data is fetched from free public APIs — no premium data subscription required.
- Binance REST API — 1h, 4h, 1d, 1w OHLCV candles (highest-weight consensus leg at 40%)
- Coinbase Advanced Trade API — primary candle source for the technical engines and headline price; second consensus leg
- Kraken REST API — candles for the third consensus leg
- OKX API — candles, perpetual funding rate, and open interest in BTC (hot-standby for consensus; derivatives engine input)
- Bybit API — perpetual funding rate, open interest, and long/short ratio (derivatives + temperature engines)
- Deribit API — options put/call ratio, max pain level, and top open-interest strikes (collected; feeds the upcoming price-map features)
- Alternative.me Fear & Greed Index— sentiment gauge (collected; feeds the upcoming macro & sentiment pillar)
Disclaimer
BTC Verdict is an educational and informational tool. Nothing on this site constitutes financial advice, investment advice, or a recommendation to buy or sell any asset. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile and past performance is not indicative of future results. Always conduct your own research and consult a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decision. Use of this site is at your own risk.