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Candle color conventions by market
"Which candle color is up and which is down" is one of the easiest things for a beginner to mix up — because it is not the same across markets. Pick a market and it tells you which color it uses for up and for down, and draws two sample candles. Before you switch markets to read a chart, check once so you do not read the colors backwards.
These are each market's long-standing conventions: the color only stands for "up / down," not good or bad, and has nothing to do with whether the price is high or low. Most platforms let you customise the colors in settings, so when what you see differs from the default, go by the legend in your own software. This tool only covers color convention; it does not predict direction and is not trading advice.
Switch markets and the colors can flip
The most concrete use of this comparison is the reminder that "the same green candle can mean the opposite in a different market." Take the classic trap: if you are used to China A-shares, where red is up and green is down and a screen full of red is good news, then you open Binance and the scheme is green up, red down — read it out of A-share habit and you will take "up" for "down," see a wall of green rallying as a wall of green falling, and get the direction exactly backwards. So before you switch markets, click the matching market above, check once which color it uses for up and for down, and do not read it backwards.
The rule of thumb is simple: crypto (Binance), US markets, and most of Europe are green up, red down; mainland China A-shares are red up, green down. When you genuinely are not sure, find one candle that is clearly rising in your own software, see what color it is, and you have recalibrated on the spot.
When to check the colors carefully, and when not to fuss
What deserves attention is the "cross-market" situation: switching from A-shares to crypto, reading someone else's screenshot, or watching different markets across several platforms at once is when you most easily carry the wrong color mapping over. If you only ever watch one market and have never changed the default colors, you basically do not need to fuss daily — muscle memory takes over. Worth flagging: most platforms let you customise the colors, so someone else's screenshot may not use the defaults. When reading a chart, find the up/down legend in the software first.
One common misread
Plenty of people assume "red means danger, green means safe," binding color to good and bad — that is over-reading it. The color is just each market's habit; which of red and green is up is pure convention, the color itself does not change the fact of up or down, and it has nothing to do with the price level or how the market is doing. It is only a label — do not let a wall of red or a wall of green set your mood for you, and certainly do not treat it as any kind of buy or sell signal.
Read on: why candle colors differ across markets, and how to tell an up candle from a down candle.