Bollinger Bands Explained: How to Read Them (Squeeze, %B)

Updated: 2026-10-26 · Türkçe

Bollinger Bands draw two bands around a 20-period average that widen and narrow with volatility. John Bollinger developed them in the 1980s. Below are today's daily bands and band width for major instruments, followed by how the bands are calculated and read.

Today's daily Bollinger Bands (20, 2)

%B: 0 = lower band, 1 = upper band. Width: band range relative to the middle band. A low 120-day rank (≤ 20) means bands are narrow versus recent months — a squeeze.

Instrument	Lower	Middle (20)	Upper	%B	Width	120-day rank
Bitcoin (BTC)	79,777.5	81,893.5	84,009.4	0.36	5.2%	8 · squeeze
Ethereum (ETH)	2,302.05	2,419.24	2,536.43	0.24	9.7%	29
Solana (SOL)	99.2179	104.873	110.529	0.28	10.8%	26
XRP (Ripple)	1.26133	1.33273	1.40412	0.45	10.7%	17 · squeeze
Gold (GOLD)	3,974.04	4,115.64	4,257.24	0.31	6.9%	54
Nvidia Stock (NVDA)	206.266	219.104	231.941	0.31	11.7%	67
Tesla Stock (TSLA)	347.523	375.886	404.249	0.97	15.1%	80

Source: Binance + OKX + Bybit perpetual median (else Hyperliquid), closed daily candles; refreshed every 30 minutes. Shows where the indicator stands now — not a forecast or investment advice.

How Bollinger Bands are calculated (20, 2)

Middle band = simple average of the last 20 closes. Upper band = middle + 2 standard deviations. Lower band = middle − 2 standard deviations. Bands widen when volatility rises and narrow when it falls.

%B shows where price sits within the bands: 0 is the lower band, 0.5 the middle, 1 the upper; above 1 means price is outside the upper band. Band width = (upper − lower) ÷ middle.

Is touching a band a trade signal?

No. Touching the upper band doesn't mean 'expensive' and touching the lower band doesn't mean 'cheap'; in strong trends price can walk along a band for weeks. In ranges the bands can act like support and resistance; in trends, walking the band shows trend strength.

The Bollinger squeeze

When band width drops to its lowest levels in months, it's called a squeeze: volatility is low and a large move often follows. A squeeze doesn't tell you the DIRECTION of the move, only that volatility is low. The table below shows band width's rank over the last 120 days; a low rank points to a squeeze.

Limits of Bollinger Bands

Standard deviation measures past volatility; it can't anticipate a news-driven move. The bands are not a trading system on their own; read them with trend and volume. This page is educational, not investment advice.

Free tools

Add Bollinger Bands on the chart →What is RSI? →What is MACD? →Bitcoin outlook →

Frequently asked questions

Why are Bollinger settings 20 and 2?

They're John Bollinger's defaults: a 20-period average and 2 standard deviations. In a normal distribution about 95% of data falls within ±2 standard deviations; prices aren't normally distributed, so the real share differs.

What happens when price breaks the upper band?

On its own, nothing definite: in a range it may pull back, in a strong trend it may keep riding the band. Breaks are judged with volume and trend direction.

What is a Bollinger squeeze?

Band width falling to its lowest recent levels. It shows volatility has dropped and often precedes a big move, but it doesn't say which direction.