Space Nation is a web3 gaming and media ecosystem. Gamers play as space explorers, fulfilling a variety of quests and earn cryptocurrency. Learn more here.

Massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) are one of the most popular types within the online world of 

. These immersive worlds, where players level up characters through exploration, fighting and trading, are a great way to capture gamers' imaginations. It's no surprise, then, that there's a big demand for MMORPGs with 

 capabilities. By combining classic gaming strategies with blockchain technology, Space Nation hopes to create the most immersive gaming experience ever. Keep reading to learn all about Space Nation's design and see what its crypto tokens are like.

 is a web3 gaming and media ecosystem. Gamers play as explorers navigating through outer space to fulfill a variety of quests and earn cryptocurrency. The game also has links to a live-action TV show and other real-world media.

. Its founding team has decades of collective experience working with AAA games, including 

, and also includes filmmakers who have worked on movies like 

. This diverse set of founders is united by their love of science fiction and gaming. To help make their dream a reality, they’re joined by a team of over 10 cryptocurrency and game design experts. Space Nation has been in development since 2022, and has acquired over $50 million worth of funding.

 is to create a vibrant, immersive gaming ecosystem for users to enjoy. While many web3 games are focused more on fast releases and impressive crypto prices, there’s a real need for quality 

 games. Space Nation hopes to create a complex system that entertains and challenges users while using blockchain technology as just one of many tools. Its stated four primary goals are as follows:

As a huge MMORPG with thousands of assets, locations and players, Space Nation's system is highly complex. Its games are designed to be fully playable for both Web 2.0 and web3 users. Anyone can download 

 onto their computer as standard software, and the player interface will guide users through enjoying the game. As with most MMORPGs, there’s a whole team of designers behind the project who come up with asset designs, questlines and world-building to make the game entertaining.

 chain is known for its scalability and cost efficiency, and Space Nation believes it can easily accommodate massive numbers of players. The blockchain handles things like buying and selling ships, buying fuel and other in-game essentials. Meanwhile, the Space Nation account system lets users log in with their 

, and then automatically handles game token management for players. 

Although Space Nation is just starting out, it's already released quite a few features for gamers to enjoy.

 revolves around ships that players can create and operate to fly through space and reach various location markers. Players can choose between combat, mining and exploration ships, depending upon how they wish to play the game. Quests guide a player through certain activities, and the player receives rewards that help them level up their spaceship and captain. In addition, players are in charge of their own growth, and can choose various development paths based on how they want to interact with the game. 

. The first, craftable NFTs, consists of in-game assets that can be made from game materials or purchased if players don't want to craft them themselves. Craftable NFTs are primarily tools or simple ships. 

There are also collectible, non-craftable NFTs that provide exclusive perks, such as the ability to participate in alpha and beta playtests. Some of these non-craftable NFTs also offer rare skins for your spaceship or profile picture. 

After testing its system through several closed betas and soft launches, Space Nation is aiming for a full public global launch, set to take place sometime in 2025 after the final soft launch concludes. Once the game is operational, the system will launch the Space Nation 

 (DAO) in stages. The eventual goal is to give players full control over their world. There are also plans to expand to a mobile game that can be played directly from a player’s cell phone.

Unlike some other games, Space Nation actually has two tokens. This dual-token system supports flexibility and ensures that people can enjoy the game, regardless of their particular web3 capabilities.

. People can use it to participate in community governance and to interact with subsidiary games that use Space Nation IP. OIK is fully on-chain, and can be bought and sold in 

. Even if you don't have a blockchain wallet, or want to operate the game as a play-to-earn system, you use CHR for tasks such as purchasing game assets. CHR is available as a reward for various activities, and can be used to obtain useful items. The token is currently off-chain, but it can be converted into USDC–Immutable zkEVM tokens that have real-world value.

 to get people involved in its ecosystem. You’re eligible for the OIK airdrop if you've participated in closed beta testing, or in 

 or Discord events for Space Nation. Users can also burn some of their NFTs in exchange for OIK, and can claim their portions of the airdrop by signing into their online Space Nation accounts. 

The OIK Space Nation ecosystem token can be used for everything from staking to 

. In addition to being bought and sold publicly, you can also earn it playing the game. There’s a total supply of 

, to be unlocked over a 10-year schedule. All tokens will be distributed as follows:

Looking to trade Space Nation tokens? Bybit now offers the OIK/USDT Spot trading pair. To get started, you’ll first need to create a Bybit account, then fund it with cryptocurrency and navigate to the 

Since its release in mid-March, the OIK token’s price has bounced between an all-time high (ATH) of $0.1587 and an ATL of $0.04119. There’s been some enthusiasm for this token due to the game’s positive reviews from players. Furthermore, the potential 

 based on the Space Nation universe could be an extremely valuable form of marketing for OIK. However, some traders have expressed concern about Space Nation’s tokenomics and the fact that the development team reserves the right to change OIK’s minting and selling opportunities.

Ultimately, this coin is a good choice for investors looking to put their extra cash into an intriguing crypto project. Keep in mind that its prestigious backers don't entirely remove risk from the coin. You'll still need to account for market volatility and avoid investing all your essential funds into Space Nation's OIK token. And as always — 

Space Nation is a great example of how a well-designed game can be augmented with blockchain technology. The 

 space exploration game is perfect for fans of 

 and similar MMORPGs. In addition to providing an exciting environment for gamers, Space Nation also has some great opportunities for investors. As it works on releasing the OIK token, be sure to keep an eye on this project.

Intermediate

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Space Nation (OIK): Conquer the cosmos in your starship saga

Bybit Learn spoke to TraderMercury, a long-time Bybit partner and trader known for his disciplined and philosophical approach to markets. 

Bybit Learn spoke to TraderMercury (@TraderMercury on X), a long-time Bybit partner and trader known for his disciplined and philosophical approach to markets. 

Mercury reveals his journey as a trader, how he overcame his biggest challenges and navigated markets to become a successful trader.

Please note that this article and any tokens mentioned does not constitute financial advice. The interview has been edited for formatting and grammatical accuracy.

Q: Firstly — congratulations on retiring your parents! How did that feel?

 It feels incredible. My family has been through a lot and many of my followers have heard my story about how my parents went from being broke, to millionaires, to being homeless. My ultimate goal has been to grant them an early retirement ever since I was 14 years old, and at the end of 2024 I was finally able to do that, thanks to markets.

Q: You've tweeted that you got into crypto 7 years ago — how did you first get into trading crypto? What sparked your interest, and what motivated you to dive into the wild west of crypto?

 I initially got into crypto by scrolling Twitter and seeing an ad for XRP/Ripple at the time. It piqued my interest and I immediately saw crypto as a ‘get-rich-quick’ scheme. I was naive enough to dive into things head first, and ironically I actually did get rich quick — I bought just before the final push upwards in 2017, and my account was up 4x in the span of a few weeks. I remember thinking to myself: “I’ll just hold these assets forever and retire,” to which I was met with -90% drawdowns over the course of the next few months, after taking no profit at all.

I became intrigued by the premise of volatility. My large losses only exacerbated my fuel to achieve large gains; I figured someone was making money from this market, why couldn’t it be me?

Q: Tell us about TraderMecury's trading journey — what were some of the biggest challenges you faced as a beginner, what advice would you give yourself if you were just starting out?

 My trading journey was initially described above, and was followed by a large humbling in March of 2020. Prior to that, I had spent the past 2 years recovering my losses from that initial naivety since joining crypto, and once again managed to rally my account 5x in that time period, leading up to March 2020. When the covid crash happened, I was caught with positions in the middle of it, and due to a failure of applying risk management, and overconfidence in my abilities, I was once again met with -80% drawdown on my entire portfolio — which, because I was only 20 years old at the time, also happened to be 100% of my net worth.

That moment was by far the most difficult event I’ve ever dealt with, but the most difficult aspect of trading was my inability to hold unrealized profit.

After my humbling, I regathered myself and restructured my approach from the very foundation. I began to view the market differently than my prior-self. I was now finding myself detaching from the market and at peace with the way I was trading, which felt very refreshing in comparison to the 2 years I had spent prior slaving away at the charts and utterly destroying my mental health.

But I was met with a new issue: I often closed positions too early, out of fear that the market would take those gains away just as quickly as it gave me those gains. I was now struck with trauma due to my experiences.

It was difficult, but I had to pace myself; slowing down with the amount I was trading with, and also forcing myself to hold positions, no matter how much my brain wanted to impulsively close positions out of randomness.

Q: You're known for your disciplined approach to trading, your 'snowball to snowman' way of thinking and trend-following strategy. Tell us about how you use it to navigate markets.

 After March 2020, when the dust had settled and I was forced to look at my new, networth of -80% lower than where it had been just a few weeks prior, I remember thinking to myself “there was nothing I could have done.” But I soon realized that was not true — I saw the downtrend, I acknowledged the drawdown, I knew what options I had, yet I consciously decided to do nothing. I had friends that made a doctor's annual salary during that same event. Again, I thought to myself, “why couldn’t that be me?”

I vowed to never let the market ‘catch me off-guard’ ever again. I realized that for whatever happens next, I must see it coming to a smaller degree first in order for that same momentum to be exaggerated further — hence “it is impossible to build a snowman without making a snowball first.”

Combine that analogy with the manner of which you build a 1000-piece puzzle. You do not randomly grab two pieces and question if they go together — you grab the pieces with a flat-edge, which clearly makes the border for the puzzle, and start there. You then fragment the puzzle and categorize by color schemes, using objects within the puzzle that are more easily identifiable, and begin piecing those together. From there, the puzzle’s completion is well on its way, and by understanding each section of the puzzle, you’ve now given yourself the clarity to understand the puzzle in its entirety, with the utmost clarity.

The analysis I make about any market operates in the same manner. I understand what’s occurring on one timeframe, and how that relates with the timeframes higher or lower. I keep repeating this process until the chart as a whole makes sense — at which point I’m now able to break down the market's complicated movements to a 5-year old, as if I were reading a storybook. Context is key, so considering the context of one timeframe into the next is a great way of adopting an intuition, a feel for the market’s movements and getting a jump on what may happen next.

Q: What was your best trade? How did you go through with the thesis, setup, execution and exit?

 My best trade as of now was just recently, as I bought Bitcoin around $57k, and sold it at an average of $100k. The percentage gain may not seem like much for crypto natives, but due to my conviction in the thesis I was playing into, I was able to justify risking more than usual in order to fully capitalize on the opportunity before me. Conviction is that feeling in your gut that tells you you’re witnessing an incredible opportunity in its’ infancy, before the greater market has been able to identify it — I remember telling the members in my discord that the price action in September 2024 and the sentiment in the air reminded me of the bear market lows in 2022. As a trader that thrives off of exaggerated momentum driven moves, it’s my job to extract lots of value from those moves; I also remember telling my members, both at the time and now, about how “even though I’ve managed to benefit from all 6 of the major rallies throughout the past 2 years, I’ve only ever compared to the bear market lows once” — that’s conviction.

Prior to that rally, my biggest win was in March 2023, once again on Bitcoin, after USDC began to depeg. I felt my back was against the wall as I hold most of my trading portfolio in USDC whenever I’m pending a new setup, and the environment at the time was plagued with uncertainty — not just for stablecoins, but for banks that were seemingly going insolvent every other week as well. Even though it was against my trading philosophy to do so, I managed to buy Bitcoin at the exact bottom with a bulk portion of my trading account, just beneath $20k, before it rallied to $30k in the next week — thanks to a fundamental understanding of Bitcoin as an asset. Whenever I tell this story, people immediately interject that I got lucky, and whilst luck plays a role in every success story, I like to believe that my luck was a byproduct of my discipline and decisions leading up to a major FUD event. Remember in March 2020 I did not have the luxury of ‘buying the dip’ — this time, I had previously cut positions 15-20% higher than where the market bent my hand and forced me to buy Bitcoin due to its’ fundamentals. The tier of quality of options that I had given myself were substantially greater than what an alternate version of myself could have been presented with, and therefore, so was the outcome.

Q: How do you maintain emotional control and deal with FOMO or fear during extreme market volatility?

 At some point, I think you become numb to it. I’ve found myself treating volatility as ‘normal’ and because I’ve traded the market for over 7 years now, there’s nothing that I haven’t seen, in either direction. That emotional discipline and maturity comes with experience — which is why it’s frequently mentioned that experience, especially in crypto, is invaluable. I also like to remind myself that “opportunity is abundant.” In a true manic rally, there is always more opportunity than what you can catch, so it’s inevitable that you will miss out on most things. The beauty in this is: even if you manage to capture a crumb of the opportunity that’s presented to you, that alone can be sufficient. It’s imperative to accept that you will not catch everything, and also realize that you do not need to. Bend your perspective to be in an ‘abundance’ mindset as opposed to a ‘scarcity’ mindset.

Fear on the other hand is inevitable; regardless of your positioning, there is always something to be fearful of. If you’re long: you fear a selloff. If you’re sidelined or short: you fear a market rally. If fear is inevitable, then it is also redundant. Find a way to mitigate fear of the market by taking comfort in whatever risk you’re taking, and formulate a strategy that allows you to express that positioning in a rational manner in order to achieve that comfort. ‘Balance’ is incredibly underrated, and allows for greater and more consistent results over time, in my experience; whereas extreme positioning and stances in the market invoke emotions and often create large setbacks.

Q: The recent market selloff has hit a lot of traders hard. How did you navigate the drawdown, and what tips would you give to those who’ve taken significant losses?

 As mentioned above I managed to cash out some of my investments, as well as close positions near the highs. There were a few losses that were taken since then as the market began to chop up and eventually downtrend, but that’s nothing out of the ordinary for me with my system — I navigated this selloff just like every other selloff in the market, and to the degree that I expect myself to. I have my fair share of bags that went to 0, but that was a calculated risk, which had previously paid off, and is not a substantial portion of my trading account by any means, mostly because I knew exactly what I was doing and “if you play stupid games, you’ll win stupid prizes.” 

So it’s not to say that I was unaffected by the market’s downturn, it’s just that it’s nothing new for me, and is no different than any other downturn, and I’ve allowed myself the grace to see it that way due to my philosophical approach to markets, and the foundation I’ve built for myself. When I see a downtrend that looks like, smells like and trades like a downtrend… and it continues downtrending, I am not allowed to be surprised. From there, it’s a matter of expressing the discipline and patience to step out of the way and wait for better days; knowing when to deploy capital to take asymmetric risks, but also knowing when to preserve capital in order to have the luxury of deploying later on.

Q: What are your thoughts on the current market condition? Which part of the cycle do you think we are at now, and has the cycle played out as you expected?

 There are lots of caveats, but the cycle has pretty much done exactly what I expected it to. I know people say it’s the worst bull market ever, but I think the market is what you make of it, and it seems unfair to throw labels onto something like that with no way of quantifying it — this has been my best bull market ever. With that said, I’m not sure what to expect next from a cyclical standpoint, and I truly think it’s best to avoid those thoughts because it seems like energy wasted in comparison to the value those thoughts bring, even if uncannily accurate. I do, however, think that the crypto market is broken as of my time of writing, and I’m waiting to see if stocks are as well, because that would be potentially indicative of a market that disallows for recoveries as we’ve seen the past 2 years. Many charts in crypto need lots of repair before we can have a conversation of a bull market resumption, and that’s typically not something that occurs in a few days.

Q: Finally, how do you use Bybit in your day-to-day crypto trading or investing, and what aspects of the platform do you like? Is there anything you would like to see improved on Bybit?

 Bybit has been my primary trading platform since 2019 — back when they only had 3 pairs to trade, and they were all inverse perpetuals, haha! It’s come a long way, and I remain in awe at the improvements made, the integrity of Bybit and its team, and the seamlessness of the trading experience. It is truly incredible to watch Bybit succeed and continue to grow, and I look forward to the future. I think the recent hack, and how Bybit managed to communicate, handle and operate through that unfortunate event, put on a global display of the same values that established my desire to be a partner with Bybit for all these years — absolutely incredible job.

Beginner

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Mastering crypto market psychology with TraderMercury

Aave has integrated Chainlink’s Smart Value Recapture (SVR) on Ethereum Mainnet to recapture liquidation-related MEV, historically lost to block builders, and redirect it to DeFi apps.

The S&P 500 fell 1.53% last week amid tariff concerns, with investors awaiting jobs data and earnings. Gold dips to $3,025 as Ukraine peace talks reduce safe-haven demand, but Fed rate cut expectations may limit losses. Market focus shifts to U.S. retail sales data for further direction. CoinDesk Indices, which tracks the broader crypto market, rose 1.06% in the past 24 hours, Bitcoin dropped 0.75%, while Ether rose 0.07%. Trade these markets and more with up to 500x leverage on Bybit MT5 using this 

Today's top performer is ZRO, up 9.3%, as Wyoming partners with LayerZero for multichain stablecoin development.

LayerZero (ZRO), launched in 2021, is a cross-chain interoperability protocol enabling secure blockchain communication. It has raised $260M+ and reached a $3B valuation. Supporting 48 blockchains, its V2 upgrade enhances security and programmability. Its first DApp, Stargate Finance, enables seamless cross-chain transfers. Wyoming Stable Token Commission has 

 with LayerZero to develop the WYST stable token, announced at the DC Blockchain Summit. Test WYST has been deployed on multiple blockchain testnets using LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token standard, meeting legislative requirements for a multichain stable token. The Commission aims to launch a fiat-backed, fully reserved stablecoin soon.

Check out the latest prices, charts, and data of 

 Chainlink’s Smart Value Recapture (SVR) on Ethereum Mainnet to recapture liquidation-related MEV, historically lost to block builders, and redirect it to DeFi apps. Developed with BGD Labs and Flashbots, SVR enables Aave to reclaim Oracle Extractable Value (OEV) from liquidations, boosting protocol revenue. Initially applied to select markets (tBTC, LBTC, AAVE, LINK), the recaptured revenue will be split between Aave (65%) and Chainlink (35%). SVR is also the first Chainlink service integrated with Payment Abstraction, allowing seamless LINK conversions for fees. Future upgrades will enhance decentralization, gas efficiency, and cross-chain functionality.

The BTC spot ETF data for the week of March 24–28, 2025, shows a total of $196.4 million in Non-GBTC, with no changes in GBTC. The week's total was negative due to a significant drop on March 28, where Non-GBTC was down by $93.2 million. The current total from inception stands at $36,334 million for Non-GBTC and -$22,526 million for GBTC.

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Aave integrates Chainlink SVR to recapture MEV and boost DeFi revenue

Mar 31, 2025: Our weekly Institutional Insights explores the latest market developments — market performance, industry news, exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows, trending topics, upcoming events and token unlocks — to help you supercharge your crypto trading.

 explores the latest market developments — market performance, industry news, exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows, trending topics, upcoming events and token unlocks — to help you supercharge your crypto trading.

Weekly highlight — Payroll is expected to further soften

US employers likely slowed hiring in March amid rising consumer caution and a dimmer economic outlook due to concerns over higher tariffs. Payrolls increased by 138,000, falling short of the 151,000 rise from the previous month, marking the slowest average job growth since October. The unemployment rate is expected to remain at 4.1%.

The labor market report comes as economic data shows a significant slowdown in Q1, with personal spending barely rising, soft disposable income growth and declining consumer sentiment over inflation fears.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and other Board of Governors members will address the economic outlook shortly after the jobs data release next Friday. The anxiety surrounding President Trump's aggressive trade policies is mounting, especially with the expected significant tariff increase on imports.

Trump stated he is unconcerned about potential auto price hikes due to these tariffs. 

 predicts that effective tariffs could reach around 15% next year, the highest in nearly a century, which may keep the Fed from lowering rates amid inflation risks.

With consumer confidence waning, any significant drop in job growth could heighten economic concerns. Upcoming manufacturing and services surveys from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) and S&P Global are anticipated to provide further insights.

Weekly crypto highlight — Ether doubts mount as volatility rattles market

Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s founder, was once celebrated as a visionary in the cryptocurrency realm. Known for his quirky style and idealistic views, he’s aimed to revolutionize finance and digital life via Ethereum, a significant competitor to Bitcoin. However, as Ethereum enters its second decade, it’s struggling to meet early expectations amid a rapidly evolving industry influenced by political shifts, notably under Donald Trump.

Developers are leaving, early supporters are frustrated — and Ethereum's token (ETH, or Ether) has underperformed compared to Bitcoin and other competitors. Complaints about Buterin's leadership have intensified, leading him to express the challenges of maintaining a positive environment for talent within the Ethereum Foundation.

Despite Ethereum remaining the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, its value plummeted approximately 44% in 2025, marking its worst quarterly performance since 2022. While BTC has gained 30% over the past year, ETH has declined 45%, losing ground to rivals like Solana, which has experienced 83% growth in developer activity.

Analysts have downgraded Ethereum's year-end forecast by 60%, citing an identity crisis and dwindling dominance. At a recent conference, Buterin acknowledged the unmet promises of Ethereum but stressed the need for sustainable long-term value.

Buterin, who authored the Ethereum white paper in 2014 after dropping out of college, envisioned a decentralized platform for digital contracts and applications. Despite Ethereum's speculative highs, he has remained detached from material wealth.

In contrast to the crypto landscape embracing Trump's rhetoric, Buterin has maintained a critical stance, labeling “politician coins” as risky and detrimental to democracy. He hasn’t commented further on these issues, reflecting his commitment to Ethereum's foundational ideals amid shifting industry dynamics.

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Weekly Institutional Insights: US payroll expected to weaken; Ether doubts mount

Trading

Heikin-Ashi shares some characteristics with standard candlestick charts. Still, it's different. But how does it work & is it beneficial?

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The Heikin-Ashi chart is a technique used for seeing the price action with more clarity and less 

 Mainly because its calculation comes from the average pace of prices. Therefore, providing the opportunity to spot market trends clearly and eventually better predict the future prices.

The Heikin-Ashi is reliable in the sense where it allows the traders to better translate the trends on candlestick charts. And help you to find good entry points through the displays of potential reversals or breakout. When applying the Heikin-Ashi in crypto trading, it helps users to critically analyze the intense market volatility into valuable information. That’s also because it helps define and highlight the 

 with objectivity and provides a solid base to establish an investment commitment. 

In fact, if the Heikin-Ashi patterns (such as wedges, triangles, and doji) are used in conjunction with the knowledge of the state of a trend, the results are quite impressive.

Here are the main concepts that will help you understand the Heikin-Ashi candles. Perhaps, also some useful trading strategies using the Heikin-Ashi to help you make your first pot of gold.

What Is the Heikin-Ashi Chart in Technical Analysis?

Yes, Heikin-Ashi sounds like Japanese. In fact, it is and it’s one of the oldest techniques developed in the 1700s to represent and visualize the market price data. Whereas the Heikin-Ashi chart is a form of a graph that displays derivations of high, low, open, and closing prices of a cryptocurrency for a specific time frame used for 

The main difference that differs Heikin-Ashi from the rest is it is used in how candlesticks are calculated and plotted on a chart. While the Heikin-Ashi calculation of the OHLC prices will be detailed throughout this guide.

Besides the Heikin-Ashi chart, crypto traders’ most popular chart types include the 

line chart, bar chart, and the candlestick chart

While Heikin-Ashi is excellent to spot trends, Heikin-Ashi must still be used in conjunction with other elements to unlock its potential. These elements include the price action (Heikin-Ashi Patterns) and each of the candles’ behavior within the overall context. 

It turns out that Heikin-Ashi candles by themselves don’t offer an edge. Therefore, they must be analyzed in the context of the general market trend.

Nevertheless, here are some aspects to give you an idea to fully comprehend the concept.

First of all, you need to know a Heikin-Ashi candle has a body and an upper with or without a lower shadow (wick).

 with no lower wick represents a strong uptrend. However, suppose a lower wick starts to present. In that case, the upward momentum is likely to decrease. And it is possible to signal a price reversal or at least a correction in the price of any crypto assets.

On the other hand, a Heikin-Ashi candle with a 

 with no upper wick represents a strong downtrend. Notwithstanding, just as in the previous scenario, if an upper wick shows up, then it is likely that the downward momentum is decreasing. Subsequently, a corrective movement or reversal could present shortly. 

If that happens, it represents a downtrend, and a group of green candles represents an uptrend. See the example below on the 30-minute time frame for Bitcoin against the US dollar, where both scenarios are presented.

The size of the Heikin-Ashi wick can signal possible shifts in momentum. As a general rule, small Heikin-Ashi wicks followed by wide-ranging wicks signal that the buying (selling) pressure starts to build up. 

In this case, as a crypto trader, you should look for a potential trend reversal. In the example below, we can see how the size of the lower wicks started to change. Notice how the Heikin-Ashi 

 has a significantly larger wick than the previous Heikin-Ashi candle wicks. That’ll alert you of a possible reversal coming later.

Before learning how to use Heikin-Ashi, as we’ll show a step-by-step guide, you must first understand the patterns. Ideally, combining trends with patterns presented by the price action can put the trader’s probabilities in favor. Thus, some of the most reliable “patterns” are shown below.

Before you get confused about what is a 

, here’s a guide to deciphering the mystery. 

Generally, a Doji formation is when the price closes at the same (or relatively close) as the “Open Price”. The 

 mainly represents a lack of follow-through in the direction of the trend. So when this formation forms, it is likely that a reversal from the previous movement could come.

 to only trade this reversal pattern in conjunction with the overall market trend. Below is an example of the BTCUSD 30-minute time frame where the Doji is identified.

 represent a pause within the overall trend and could evolve into a continuation or a reversal. Of course, the long or short entry depends entirely on where the pattern is formed within the overall trend.

The triangle usually converges towards a middle point in its structure. While the break out defines where the momentum is likely to keep going.

In the example above, a triangle formation is presented on the daily chart of BTCUSD; see how after the price broke the upper limit (black arrow), it continued its uptrend defined by consecutive green Heikin-Ashi candles.

Other common price formations are the wedges, which are classified as rising and falling wedges. The first one has a bearish connotation because it represents the lack of follow-through to the upside, so a corrective or reversal movement could likely come soon—for example, 

, and it has more chances of being successful if the underlying trend is robust to the upside. See the example below:

How Do Heikin-Ashi Candles Different From Regular Candlesticks?

At first glance, the Heikin-Ashi candles and the regular candles are indeed similar. However, on a closer examination, the Heikin-Ashi chart presents a smooth price action where trends tend to be more consistent than the regular candlestick charts. That shows a significant advantage of Heikin-Ashi vs. a standard candle.

In the example below, a Bitcoin chart against the US dollar (BTCUSD) in a 10-minute time frame shows how on the Heikin-Ashi chart, the price presents blocks of consecutive red candles. Meanwhile, the traditional chart shows more alternation on its candles, sometimes red, sometimes green.

Practically, this smooth action on the Heikin-Ashi Candles allows the traders to read in the market better. That’s because when any given asset is trending, the action is presented with blocks of green or red candles, for an uptrend and a downtrend, respectively. To simply put it in conclusion, it makes your life easier to identify when a market is trending or not.

Above all, with this information and some price action patterns (Heikin Patterns), the investor can build a trading plan to enter the market.

Heikin-Ashi candles should be used with trend-following strategies. Ideally, crypto traders should use the candles in trending markets. When a cryptocurrency moves in a well-established trend, the candles will show all chart patterns and trends more clearly.

The Heikin-Ashi candles’ values with the

prices are calculated based on the average price. In fact, the name Heikin-Ashi in Japanese means Average Pace. So in the markets, this kind of charting represents the prices’ average pace.

The Heikin-Ashi calculation of the prices is based on the following formulas:

By comparison, the standard candlestick chart has a much more straightforward calculation. The open, high, low, and close values are all taken as the cryptocurrency price changes over time. Another difference in the Heikin-Ashi vs. candles calculation is those past candlesticks have no material impact on the formation of current candlesticks.

How to Use Heikin-Ashi In Crypto Trading?

Essentially, it is vital to choose a market with enough volatility and liquidity so the trades can be placed. Of course, this works perfectly on the Forex market.

As the traditional market gets more matured, the room for profitability gets limited. Hence, many traders are turning their heads to cryptocurrencies. Today, the 

 is one of the most exciting markets. Despite the volatility, liquidity, and several brokers offering attractive investment vehicles to participate in this market, there are plenty of opportunities to profit from this market.

So, if you want to filter out some good trading opportunities, here’s how: 

It is important to identify the momentum in the market to place trades in favor of that momentum. In other words, apply a trend following approach.

Here the multiple time frame analysis plays a vital role because it will help us identify that momentum. In the next chart of BTCUSD on the 12-hour chart, we can see the break out of a triangle pattern with a green candlestick. Additionally, we can see two areas that can act as resistance levels (Blue lines). 

Check out this practical step-by-step guide on how to start trading with Heikin-Ashi strategies:

Example of Heikin-Ashi Chart Analysis  

First, identify the momentum on the higher time frame, for this example, we can take as the reference the previous image, where they break out of the triangle in the 

 in the BTCUSD gives us clues about the direction of the momentum/ trend (big fat green candle).

After the momentum has been identified, the idea is to look for a continuation of the 12-hour green Heikin-Ashi candle, so we zoom into the 

 to look for follow-through. Those continuations can be framed under any continuation pattern, which could be a wedge or a triangle.

For this specific example, we have two possible entries after the break out of the triangles, the entries are the black dots, and the red lines are the stop-loss order where we anchor our risk.

It is also essential to highlight the two “resistance” levels. Bear in mind that if they don’t hold as resistance, they could fuel our long position because those are the pivot points where the short sellers are likely to have their stop-loss orders.

One option for the trailing stop is to trail based on the momentum of the higher time frame. In this case, when the candle closes below the previous one, this is the exit point (green dot).

The Pros and Cons to Trade With Heikin-Ashi Candles

Everything comes with setbacks. Before you decided to try out this candle, here’s what you must know!

While things may be in your favor, but what if we tell you that the limitations are quite significant as well?

The truth is, sometimes, with the “classic charts” of candles or bars, some reversals can be spotted before any signal is given on the Heikin-Ashi candles. This happens because the latter is created based on average prices, so in a certain way has a lagging factor in its structure. However, this is a minor disadvantage because you can perfectly play continuations and take advantage of the current trend.

So, what can you do to overcome the limitations?

One of the main mistakes many novice traders tend to make when using Heikin-Ashi candles is the lack of multiple time frame analysis. That is because traders focus only on one time frame that could be in the middle of a sideways movement. 

Think about it, if you’re the trader that does that. It means when you try to play with the trend-following approaches, it’ll significantly decrease your chances of profitability.

Therefore, the best way is to look at higher time frames where momentum is present (big fat candles) and then go to a lower time frame to play continuation in the direction of that momentum. Usually, this momentum plays on the higher time frames can be found using the Heikin-Ashi strategy. For example, look at the continuation of a triangle break daily, but the timing of that continuation could be taken on the hourly chart.

Trading on the right side of the cryptocurrency market can be much easier if traders switch from the classical candlestick chart to the Heikin-Ashi chart. Overall, the Heikin-Ashi’s versatility is great to spot potential trading opportunities with your favorite cryptocurrency. However, it’s still best if you practice it in advance before trading with real funds.

Ready to take your trading skill to the next level? 

What Is a Heikin-Ashi Chart and How to Trade with It

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