Economics journalist & crypto finance expert
Andreas Hartwig
Author of the BIKENZO learn articles and managing director of Stage Strategy GmbH, the company that operates BIKENZO.
What he writes here
Every educational article on this site is published under his name rather than under the company's. That is deliberate: on a subject where most writing is anonymous and most of it is selling something, a named author is accountable for what the text claims.
The subjects are the ones the terminal itself is built on — how central-bank liquidity is measured, how it is netted against drains like reverse repo and government cash balances, how the Bitcoin price forms in real order books, and where each of those is context rather than a signal.
What he does not do
He does not give investment advice, publish price forecasts, manage anyone's money, or recommend that any asset be bought, sold or held. BIKENZO is a data terminal and the articles are educational; neither is a regulated advice service, and nothing on this site should be read as one.
Where an article covers something contested — the four-year cycle, technical indicators, Bitcoin as an inflation hedge — it says so plainly instead of presenting it as settled.
Contact
Editorial corrections and questions about the method are welcome. Stage Strategy GmbH is registered in Mölln, Germany; the full company details are in the imprint.
Articles (92)
All articles on this site are written and maintained by him.
- Bitcoin cycles and liquidity
- How professional investors read macro liquidity for Bitcoin
- Using a liquidity view when you make your own Bitcoin decision
- Bitcoin vs. M2: the global money supply, explained
- Bitcoin and global liquidity, explained
- What is a global liquidity index?
- How to read a Bitcoin liquidity chart
- Bitcoin price: what it is and what moves it
- How the Bitcoin price is formed
- Bitcoin price prediction: what AI can and cannot tell you
- What is Bitcoin? A plain-language explanation
- Is Bitcoin a stock? The “Bitcoin stock price”, explained
- How buying Bitcoin works
- Bitcoin and the gold price: the digital-gold question
- Why BIKENZO covers only Bitcoin
- Looking for an investment company
- Bitcoin Halving Explained: The ~4-Year Schedule and Why It Is Not a Price Guarantee
- How to Store Bitcoin Safely: Custodial vs Self-Custody, Hot vs Cold Wallets, and Seed Phrases
- Bitcoin ETFs Explained: Spot vs Futures, Fees, Custody, and How They Differ From Owning BTC
- Is Bitcoin Safe and Legal? A High-Level Guide to Security, Volatility, and Regulation
- Bitcoin and the Federal Reserve Balance Sheet: How QE and QT Relate to BTC
- US M2 Money Supply and Bitcoin: What It Measures and How They Have Related
- Bitcoin ETFs for US Investors: Spot vs. Futures, Fees, Custody, and Tax Basics
- Bitcoin and US Interest Rates: How the Fed Rate Cycle Shapes Liquidity
- Bitcoin, the US Dollar (DXY) and Global Liquidity: How They Interact
- Bitcoin and US Recessions: How Macro Cycles and Liquidity Have Shaped BTC
- Bitcoin mining explained: blocks, rewards, energy and incentives in plain terms
- Proof of Work Explained: How Bitcoin Reaches Consensus
- Bitcoin vs Ethereum: What Each Is Designed For, and How They Differ
- Bitcoin as a Store of Value: The Thesis Examined Honestly
- The 21 Million Bitcoin Supply Cap: How Halvings Enforce Digital Scarcity
- Bitcoin Difficulty Adjustment: How the Network Holds ~10-Minute Blocks
- What Is a Bitcoin Node? Full Nodes and Why Verification Matters
- The Bitcoin Lightning Network: A Plain Guide to Layer-2 Payments
- Bitcoin On-Chain Metrics Explained: What They Can and Can't Tell You
- Bitcoin volatility explained: why the price swings and how it has changed
- Dollar-Cost Averaging and Bitcoin: What DCA Is, Why People Use It, and Where It Falls Short
- Bitcoin Market Structure: Spot vs Futures, Exchanges, and the Basis
- What Is Quantitative Easing (QE)? How It Works and Its Historical Link to Liquidity and Bitcoin
- What Is Quantitative Tightening (QT)? How Central Banks Drain Liquidity — and How That Has Related to Risk Assets
- Reverse Repo (RRP) and Liquidity: How Parked Cash Drains the System
- The Treasury General Account (TGA): How Its Swings Add or Drain Liquidity
- How Central Banks Create Money: Reserves, Balance Sheets and the Mechanics
- Bitcoin and Inflation: The "Inflation Hedge" Claim, Examined Honestly
- Bitcoin and Bond Yields: How Interest Rates Shape Conditions for Risk Assets
- Bitcoin and Real Interest Rates: Why the Cost of Money Matters for Risk Assets
- Bitcoin and the Business Cycle: Macro Cycles, Liquidity, and a Short History
- Bitcoin and Emerging Markets: What Drives Adoption
- Bitcoin Taxes: The Basics You Should Understand Before You File
- Bitcoin Scams and How to Avoid Them: Common Types and Practical Safety Habits
- What Is Technical Analysis? The Idea, and the Honest Debate
- How to Read Candlestick Charts: Open, High, Low, Close, Bodies and Wicks
- Common Candlestick Patterns (Doji, Hammer, Engulfing): What They Are and Why They Are Not Reliable Predictors
- Chart Patterns Explained: Head and Shoulders, Triangles, and Flags
- Support and Resistance: What the Levels Mean and Why They're Subjective
- Trend Lines and Channels: How They Are Drawn and Where They Fall Short
- Elliott Wave Theory Explained: Impulse and Corrective Waves — and Why It's Contested
- Fibonacci Retracement Explained
- Moving Averages (SMA/EMA): What They Smooth and How They Lag
- The RSI Indicator Explained: What It Measures and Its Well-Known False Signals
- The MACD Indicator Explained: Construction, Interpretation, and Its Limits
- Bollinger Bands Explained: What They Show About Volatility (and How They're Misused)
- Volume in Trading Explained: What It Indicates and Its Caveats in Crypto
- The Order Book and Depth of Market: What Bids and Asks Do and Do Not Reveal
- Bid-Ask Spread and Slippage: The Real Costs of Executing a Trade
- Order Types Explained: Market, Limit, Stop, and Stop-Limit
- Crypto Exchange and Broker Fees Explained: Trading Fees, Spreads, and Withdrawal Costs
- Maker and Taker Fees Explained: How Exchange Trading Fees Work
- Leverage and Margin Trading, Explained Honestly
- Liquidations in Crypto Trading: How Leveraged Positions Get Force-Closed
- Long and Short Positions: What They Mean and the Risk Asymmetry of Shorting
- Risk Management in Trading: The Discipline That Outweighs Any Indicator
- Position Sizing Explained: Deciding How Much to Risk Per Trade
- Stop-Loss and Take-Profit Orders: How They Work and Where They Fail
- Risk-Reward Ratio: The Concept and How It Interacts With Win Rate
- Trading Psychology: Fear, Greed, and Common Cognitive Traps
- Backtesting: What It Can Show and How It Misleads
- Spot vs Derivatives Trading: The Difference and the Added Risks
- Perpetual Futures and Funding Rates Explained
- Day Trading vs Swing Trading: Timeframes and Trade-offs
- Common Trading Mistakes: Overtrading, Revenge Trading, and Trading Without a Plan
- Why Most Retail Traders Lose Money
- The CLARITY Act, Explained: A Neutral Guide to U.S. Digital-Asset Market Structure
- Bitcoin for Cautious Investors: A Calm, Honest Introduction
- Protecting Your Capital When You Invest: What It Really Means
- How Much of Your Money Should You Put Into Bitcoin?
- Bitcoin vs Stocks, Bonds and Property: A First-Time Investor's Comparison
- Diversification Basics for New Investors
- Lump Sum vs Dollar-Cost Averaging: Two Ways to Deploy Hard-Earned Savings
- Avoiding Emotional Investment Decisions: How FOMO and Panic Erode Returns
- Making Investment Decisions With Real Economic Data
- Bitcoin Indicator: Why RSI and MACD Lag — and What Leads Instead