Last updated: 8 October 2026. Every screenshot below was recorded on 8 October 2026 on an IQ Option Practice account registered in Brazil, on EUR/USD 5-minute candles; the Chart analysis picture in Step 1 was recorded on 5 October 2026. We placed no real-money trade. The settings come from the platform’s dialog and the calculation from the published source code of the platform’s built-in indicators (Quadcode’s script library). The tested box shows what two entries with the cloud did on EUR/USD candles recorded between 29 September and 5 October 2026; with so few signals it says nothing about what will happen next.
The Ichimoku Cloud draws five lines over the price chart and fills the space between two of them, the cloud. Three of the lines are the midpoint of the highest high and the lowest low over a period: the Tenkan (conversion line, 9 candles), the Kijun (standard line, 26) and Senkou B (52); Senkou A is the average of the Tenkan and the Kijun; the cloud is drawn from the values of 26 candles earlier, and the fifth line, the Chikou, is the close drawn 26 candles back. A green cloud means that Senkou A is above Senkou B and a red one the reverse. The usual way to trade it is with the cloud: longs with the price above a green cloud, shorts with the price below a red one, entering on the price or the Tenkan crossing the Kijun. On 5-minute EUR/USD candles that gave only 14 and 27 signals in 1,334 candles.
Quick answer
- What it plots: over the price chart: Tenkan (light blue), Kijun (dark red), Senkou A (green) and Senkou B (red), the cloud between the last two, and the Chikou (dark green) shifted back.
- Formula: Tenkan = (highest high + lowest low of 9 candles) ÷ 2; Kijun = the same over 26; Senkou A = (Tenkan + Kijun) ÷ 2; Senkou B = the same midpoint over 52; the cloud lines are drawn with the values of 26 candles earlier; Chikou = the close, drawn 26 candles back.
- Settings on the platform: four: the Tenkan period (9), the Kijun period (26), the Senkou Span B period (52) and the General offset (26).
- Reading: the price above a green cloud is an uptrend, below a red cloud a downtrend; the usual entry is a cross of the Kijun by the price or of the Kijun by the Tenkan.
- Where: the Trend list of the Chart analysis panel; search for Ichimoku.
- Tested: on 5-minute candles the Tenkan and Kijun entry gave 14 signals and won 42.9% of the decided trades with a 5-minute trade, the price and Kijun entry 27 signals and 30.8%; on 1-minute candles with a 5-minute trade 21 signals and 80.0% (16 of 20) and 46 signals and 55.6%. Break-even is 54.1% at an 85% payout, and a few days of one pair prove nothing.
How do you add the Ichimoku Cloud on IQ Option?
Set the chart
Choose the asset, the chart type and the candle size first: the indicator is calculated from the candles on the chart. The examples in this guide use 5-minute candles on EUR/USD. These steps use the web traderoom on a Practice balance, and the numbers in each screenshot match the numbers in the text. If you do not have an account yet, see how to register.
Step 1: Open Chart analysis
Click the indicators button (1), the wave icon in the chart toolbar at the bottom left of the chart. The Chart analysis panel opens with the tabs Indicators, Templates, Widgets and Scripts. Stay on Indicators.
Step 2: Find Ichimoku Cloud
Type “Ichimoku” in the Search for indicators box (1), or open the Trend list, and click Ichimoku Cloud (2).
Step 3: Check the settings
The dialog has the tabs Basic settings (1) and Colors and display. The Tenkan – Conversion Line Period (2) opens at 9, the number of candles of the conversion line. The Kijun – Standard line period (3) opens at 26, the number of candles of the standard line. The (Senkou Span B) – Cloud’s 2nd line period (4) opens at 52, the number of candles of the second cloud line. The General offset (5) opens at 26, a shift in candles. In the published source the General offset is the distance by which the Chikou is drawn back; the cloud lines are drawn from the values of 26 candles earlier, the Kijun period.
Step 4: Check the colours and click Apply
Open the Colors and display tab (1). The tab has six rows, each with a checkbox that shows or hides it: Conversion line (light blue by default), Standard line (dark red), Chikou Span (Lagging line) (dark green), Cloud line 1 (green), Cloud line 2 (red) and Cloud filling, with two colour boxes for the green and the red cloud. The first five also have a line-style box. All the rows are in box 2. Click Apply (3).
Step 5: Read the lines
The lines are drawn over the price chart; there is no panel and no title bar. The picture shows 07:09 to 09:08 on the platform clock. The Tenkan is the light-blue line (1) and the Kijun the dark-red line (2). The two cloud lines are Cloud line 1, the green Senkou A (3), and Cloud line 2, the red Senkou B (4); the shaded band between them is the cloud (5), red here because Senkou A is under Senkou B. The Chikou is the dark-green line (6): the close of each candle, drawn 26 candles further left.
How is the Ichimoku Cloud calculated?
The Quadcode source computes four midpoints and one shifted close. The Tenkan is the middle of the highest high and the lowest low of the last 9 candles, and the Kijun the same over 26 candles. Senkou A is the average of the Tenkan and the Kijun. Senkou B is the middle of the highest high and the lowest low over 52 candles. The two Senkou lines are drawn with the values they had 26 candles earlier, which is the cloud that lies ahead of the price in the classic picture; here it is the cloud that the older values of the lines made. The Chikou is the close, plotted 26 candles back. The fill between Senkou A and Senkou B is green where A is above B and red where it is below.
| Line | Default | Calculation |
|---|---|---|
| Tenkan (conversion line) | 9 | Midpoint of the 9-candle high and low |
| Kijun (standard line) | 26 | Midpoint of the 26-candle high and low |
| Senkou A (first cloud line) | | (Tenkan + Kijun) ÷ 2, drawn from 26 candles earlier | |
| Senkou B (second cloud line) | 52 | Midpoint of the 52-candle high and low, drawn from 26 candles earlier |
| Chikou (lagging line) | 26 (the General offset) | The close, drawn 26 candles back |
The method is credited to Goichi Hosoda, in the late 1930s, for daily, weekly and monthly charts; some scalpers use it on 1-minute charts and below in a volatile, liquid market. Take care with the names of the two cloud lines: the average of the Tenkan and the Kijun is Senkou A.
How do you read the Ichimoku Cloud?
The cloud is read first. The price over the cloud is an uptrend and below it a downtrend; the two boundaries confirm it, the first (Senkou A) rising above the second in a green cloud and falling below it in a red one, and the cloud gives support and resistance levels, since it is drawn ahead of the price. Trade with the trend. Price and Kijun: a short is taken when the price lies below a red cloud, bounces above the Kijun, and then crosses it downwards; a long when the price is above a green cloud and breaks the Kijun upwards. Tenkan and Kijun: a short when the Tenkan crosses the Kijun downwards with the price below a red cloud; a long when it crosses upwards with the price above a green cloud. Its limits are confusion at first sight, unsuitability for some strategies and false signals.
What did it look like on 5-minute candles?
We replayed the library script on EUR/USD 5-minute candles recorded from the Practice traderoom: 1,093 candles from 29 September 2026 (01:55 UTC) to 2 October (20:55 UTC) and 241 from 4 October (21:00 UTC) to 5 October (17:00 UTC). The cloud needs 78 candles of history (52 for Senkou B and 26 for the shift), so it exists on 1,180 of the candles.
- Cloud colour: green on 484 candles (41%) and red on 686 (58%).
- Price against the cloud: the close was above the cloud on 407 candles (34%), below it on 551 (47%) and inside it on 222 (19%).
Two stills of the platform, window A (the Step 5 picture shows its part from 07:09 to 09:08) and window B (not pictured), agree with the replay: the Tenkan, the Kijun and the two cloud lines read off the chart at 65 candles of each window (520 points) differed from the replay of the script by less than 0.1 pip on average and by 0.3 pip at most, and the Chikou, which the platform draws 26 candles back, matched to 0.1 pip at the median. In window A, 29 September from 06:14 to 11:58 on the platform clock, the cloud is red until 10:55 and turns green at 11:00; the Tenkan crosses above the Kijun at 07:50 and back below it at 10:00; the close is below the cloud until 08:20, inside it from 08:25, above it from 08:50, back inside from 09:50 (after short visits at 09:35 and 09:45) and below it from 10:35. In window B, from 11:27 to 17:11, the cloud is green at 11:30 and turns red at 13:15; the close stays below it from 11:35 to 15:10, and the Tenkan crosses above the Kijun at 15:15, when the close enters the cloud; the close is above it from 15:40, with a return inside at 15:45. (A point is drawn at the close of its candle: the value of the candle that opened at 07:45 sits at the 07:50 mark.)
The two cloud entries, tested
We wrote the two entries as exact rules on closed candles. Tenkan and Kijun: Higher on the candle where the Tenkan crosses above the Kijun while the close is above a green cloud (Senkou A above Senkou B); Lower where it crosses below while the close is below a red cloud. Price and Kijun: Higher on the candle that closes above the Kijun after a close at or below it, with the close above a green cloud; Lower on the mirror below a red cloud. The option opens at the close of the signal candle. No expiry is given, so the box shows five minutes and fifteen minutes on 5-minute candles, and five minutes on 1-minute candles, where some scalpers use the method.
Tested on IQ Option: the Ichimoku Cloud, EUR/USD candles of 29 September to 5 October 2026
| Asset and candles | EUR/USD binary (regular, not OTC): 1,334 five-minute candles (2026-09-29 01:55 to 2026-10-02 20:55 UTC and 2026-10-04 21:00 to 2026-10-05 17:00 UTC); 1,505 one-minute candles (2026-10-02 18:23 to 2026-10-02 20:59 UTC and 2026-10-04 21:01 to 2026-10-05 19:28 UTC). The candles were recorded from IQ Option’s Practice traderoom. The replay places no orders; it only scores the rule on those closed candles, at an 85% payout. |
|---|---|
| Rule tested | The two entries with the cloud on closed candles, the option opening at the close of the signal candle. Tenkan and Kijun: Higher on the candle where the Tenkan crosses above the Kijun while the close is above a green cloud (Senkou A above Senkou B), Lower where it crosses below while the close is below a red cloud. Price and Kijun: Higher on the candle that closes above the Kijun after a close at or below it, with the close above a green cloud; Lower on the mirror below a red cloud. No expiry is given, so the box shows 5 and 15 minutes on 5-minute candles and 5 minutes on 1-minute candles, where some scalpers use the method. |
| Signals | Tenkan crosses Kijun with the cloud, 5-minute, 1 candle: 14 signals (6 Higher, 8 Lower) Price crosses Kijun with the cloud, 5-minute, 1 candle: 27 signals (12 Higher, 15 Lower) Tenkan/Kijun with the cloud, 5-minute, 3 candles: 13 signals (6 Higher, 7 Lower) Price/Kijun with the cloud, 5-minute, 3 candles: 27 signals (12 Higher, 15 Lower) Tenkan/Kijun with the cloud, 1-minute, 5 candles: 21 signals (11 Higher, 10 Lower) Price/Kijun with the cloud, 1-minute, 5 candles: 46 signals (26 Higher, 20 Lower) |
| Outcomes | Tenkan crosses Kijun with the cloud, 5-minute, 1 candle: 6 won, 8 lost, 0 tied; 42.9% of the 14 decided trades won; net −$0.21 per $1 staked at 85% (−$0.18 at 91%) Price crosses Kijun with the cloud, 5-minute, 1 candle: 8 won, 18 lost, 1 tied; 30.8% of the 26 decided trades won; net −$0.41 per $1 staked at 85% (−$0.40 at 91%) Tenkan/Kijun with the cloud, 5-minute, 3 candles: 7 won, 6 lost, 0 tied; 53.8% of the 13 decided trades won; net −$0.00 per $1 staked at 85% (+$0.03 at 91%) Price/Kijun with the cloud, 5-minute, 3 candles: 10 won, 17 lost, 0 tied; 37.0% of the 27 decided trades won; net −$0.32 per $1 staked at 85% (−$0.29 at 91%) Tenkan/Kijun with the cloud, 1-minute, 5 candles: 16 won, 4 lost, 1 tied; 80.0% of the 20 decided trades won; net +$0.46 per $1 staked at 85% (+$0.50 at 91%) Price/Kijun with the cloud, 1-minute, 5 candles: 25 won, 20 lost, 1 tied; 55.6% of the 45 decided trades won; net +$0.03 per $1 staked at 85% (+$0.06 at 91%) |
| Break-even | At an 85% payout a trade needs to win more than 54.1% of its decided trades to break even (1 ÷ 1.85); at 91%, more than 52.4% (1 ÷ 1.91). |
A replay is only a look back at candles recorded on the dates above: it placed no real orders, covers about four and a half days of one pair, and counts overlapping trades as if they were independent. A short test proves nothing about the future, and no profit and no win rate is promised here. IQ Option’s own blog on backtesting says that most strategies need dozens, and often hundreds, of trades before a result means anything.
With a trade of one candle (5 minutes) the Tenkan and Kijun entry gave 14 signals and won 6 (42.9%), and the price and Kijun entry gave 27 signals and won 8 of the 26 decided trades (30.8%, one tie). With a trade of three candles (15 minutes) the figures were 53.8% (7 of 13) and 37.0% (10 of 27). On 1-minute candles with a 5-minute trade, on 1,505 candles (about 25 hours), the Tenkan and Kijun entry gave 21 signals and won 16 of the 20 decided trades (80.0%, with a 95% interval of 58% to 92%), and the price and Kijun entry 46 signals and 25 of 45 (55.6%, 41% to 69%). Break-even is 54.1% at an 85% payout. The 5-minute results are at or below it; the only result clearly above it, 80.0%, rests on 20 decided trades from about 25 hours of 1-minute candles, so it is something to test again on other days, not a rule.
Pros and Cons of the Ichimoku Cloud
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| One tool for the trend, the support and resistance and the entries. | Five lines and a fill: confusing at first. |
| The cloud filter keeps the trade with the trend. | The filter is so strict that the two rules gave only 14 to 46 signals in about four and a half days. |
| Works on several time frames, from daily to the scalper’s 1-minute chart. | It was made for daily charts and above; on 5-minute candles the rules did not clearly beat the break-even rate. |
Common mistakes
- Trading against the cloud. The rule enters only with the cloud: above green for longs, below red for shorts.
- Reading the cloud as ahead of the price. On the platform the cloud lines are drawn from the values of 26 candles earlier, at the position of the current candle in this plot.
- Judging a rule from a handful of signals. The 1-minute Tenkan and Kijun rule won 16 of 20 decided trades but gave only 21 signals.
- Changing all the periods at once. Change one and test it on a Practice balance.
Related guides
- Identifying a trend and support and resistance
- KAMA and Donchian Channel
- Too many indicators on your chart and leading and lagging indicators
- All indicator guides and all strategy guides
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the Ichimoku Cloud?
A: An indicator of five lines built from the midpoints of highs and lows over 9, 26 and 52 candles, with a cloud drawn between two of them. It is credited to Goichi Hosoda.
Q: What settings does the Ichimoku Cloud have on IQ Option?
A: Four: the Tenkan period (9), the Kijun period (26), the Senkou Span B period (52) and the General offset (26); the colours and the visibility of the five lines and of the cloud filling can be changed on the Colors and display tab.
Q: What do the colours of the cloud mean?
A: The cloud is green where Senkou A is above Senkou B and red where it is below. Green is read as an uptrend and red as a downtrend.
Q: Which entries are used?
A: The price crossing the Kijun, or the Tenkan crossing the Kijun, in the direction of the cloud. The results are in the tested box.
Q: Does it work on 5-minute charts?
A: It was made for daily and longer charts, and some scalpers use it on 1-minute charts. On 5-minute EUR/USD the rules gave 14 and 27 signals, too few to judge.
Q: Can I use the Ichimoku Cloud on binary options?
A: The platform draws them on any chart. Whether a rule works is something to test on the Practice balance with the expiry you plan to use.
