Range-bound describes price movement contained mainly between a lower support area and an upper resistance area over a specified period. Buyers and sellers continue trading, but neither direction develops a sustained trend beyond those boundaries. The range can be wide and volatile or relatively narrow.
Identifying the boundaries
Suppose a token repeatedly rebounds around 20 and retreats around 24 for several weeks. A trader might describe it as range-bound between those areas. These are observed zones, not exact barriers that prevent transactions outside them. Brief moves through either edge can occur without establishing a new trend.
The description depends on the chart interval: an hourly range may sit inside a longer downward trend. A range also becomes clearer with repeated observations than with just two isolated prices.
Trading implications
Range trading attempts to use recurring moves between the boundaries, while breakout trading focuses on a possible departure. Neither approach follows automatically from the label. Fees, spreads and false breakouts can undermine results, and a decisive move can invalidate an assumed range. Range-bound behavior describes recent price structure; it does not promise that the next rebound or reversal will occur.