Spot grid bot FAQ

A spot grid bot is a trading bot that you can customise and deploy to automatically place buy and sell orders at set intervals and within a specified price range. The aim of the spot grid bot is to systematically buy at lower prices and sell at higher prices within a specified price range. As with all bots, there's no guarantee that this aim will be achieved. The bot will only operate according to the parameters you set.

The term grid refers to the intervals between trading levels where these orders are placed.

Learn more on how you can manually set up your spot grid bot here.

FAQ

1. How are orders initialized once I create my Spot grid bot?

The initialization of orders for your Spot grid bot depends on the investment mode you choose, as well as any advanced settings you might apply. In general, you can invest in three different ways:

• Quote currency – you invest in quote currency (for example, USDT if you're trading BTC/USDT).

• Base currency – you invest in the base currency (for example, BTC if you're trading BTC/USDT).

• Combination of Base and Quote currencies – You invest using both the base and quote currencies (for example, BTC and USDT for BTC/USDT).

Note: besides the aforementioned, in certain markets, users will have the extra option to invest using stablecoins (for example, USDT), even when creating a bot for a pair that is not denominated in stablecoins (for example, ETHBTC).

Depending on your investment choice, the order initialization process will vary. Here’s how it works for each option:

• If you invest in quote currency (for example, USDT): your bot will place buy orders at each grid level, using the quote currency to purchase the base currency (for example, BTC). When initialized, you'll typically see one buy order at each grid level. However, keep in mind that some of these orders might get filled immediately at the market price, depending on the current market conditions.

• If you invest in base currency (for example, BTC): your bot will place sell orders at each grid level, using the base currency to sell at the grid levels. Just like with quote currency investment, the initial orders may get filled right away if the market price aligns with your grid levels.

• If you invest in both base and quote currencies: the bot will place a combination of buy and sell orders across the grid levels, with the goal of maximizing the use of both your base and quote currencies. The distribution of buy and sell orders will depend on the total amount you invested.

Order Initialization Flow

• Amount per grid: the first step in the process is to determine your amount per grid, which is typically calculated in base currency. This is done in a way that maximally utilizes your investment and equally distributes the allocated amount across all grid levels.

• Order creation: once the amount per grid is determined, the bot proceeds with the actual order initialization. Depending on your chosen investment type, the bot will create buy or sell orders accordingly.

2. How does the Spot grid bot ensure the strategy is followed consistently, and there are no errors, ensuring continuity?

Once you create your Spot grid bot, the initialization process, as described here, takes place. This involves placing buy orders, sell orders, or a combination of both, depending on your chosen investment mode.

The general logic behind the Spot grid bot’s consistent strategy is straightforward:

• Order filling and reinitialization: Whenever an order is filled (for example, a theoretical grid level is satisfied), a new order is automatically placed at the paired grid level to generate another profit opportunity.

Example:
Suppose you create a Spot grid bot for BTC/USDT with the following settings:

• Range: 100,000 to 110,000

• Grids: 10

• Market Price: 105,000

• Investment: USDT

During the initialization process, the bot will place buy orders at grid levels, such as:

• 100,000, 101,000, 102,000... up to 109,000.

• Order filling: Any buy orders at the 105,000 level and beyond will be filled immediately at the current market price (for example, 105,000).

Once a buy order is filled, the corresponding sell order will be placed at the next grid level (for example, from 105,000 to 106,000).These two orders (buy at 105,000 and sell at 106,000) form an order group. When both the buy and sell orders are filled, you make a profit from the difference between the buy and sell price.

• Continuous repetition: This process repeats automatically until you stop the bot, ensuring that the grid strategy is consistently followed.

3. My Spot grid bot stopped without me configuring any stops. Why did this happen?

This typically occurs in rare cases, such as when the trading pair you've selected gets delisted. Whenever a pair is delisted, an announcement is posted on the website, and you'll be notified. To start, check if your trading pair was delisted. Another situation where your bot might stop is if you've copied a bot from a lead trader, and the lead trader’s bot has been stopped.

If the pair is not delisted or your bot is not a copy bot, please contact Customer Support with your bot ID.

4. I noticed that in some of my order groups, the SELL order occurred before the BUY order. Is this normal, or could there be an issue?

This is normal and can happen in two main situations:

• Base Currency or Base + Quote Currency investment:

  • If you invested in base currency or both base and quote currencies, the SELL order may be placed first to sell some of the base currency, followed by the BUY orders to complete the grid levels.

  • This is a standard part of the process and doesn't indicate any issue.

• Bot editing or investment addition:

  • If you edited your bot’s parameters or increased your investment, the order group visualization may reset.

  • Example: Let’s say you initially invested 1,000 USDT in your BTC/USDT bot, and over time the bot holds 500 USDT and 0.005 BTC. After you edit or add more investment, the system recalculates the order groups from scratch. As a result, the bot may reallocate the current assets (for example, 500 USDT + 0.005 BTC) into new BUY and SELL orders, which could cause the SELL to appear before the BUY in the order groups.

  • This is purely a visualization reset and doesn’t affect the actual performance of the bot.

  • Your total profits will always be tracked correctly under your Total PnL, regardless of how the orders are visualized.

  • Any profits not associated with the order groups will be reflected under Unpaired PnL, so rest assured, none of your PnL is withheld.

5. Why are there many PnL metrics displayed on my Spot Grid bot, and which PnL is the true bot PnL?

Total PnL is the key metric for tracking your bot's overall performance. It reflects the change in your bot’s equity over time, factoring in all gains and losses. It's calculated by comparing your current bot equity (based on live market prices) with your initial equity when the bot was created—plus or minus any top-ups or withdrawals.For visualization purposes, this total value is broken down into two additional metrics:

• Grid Profits

• Unpaired PnL

These metrics provide more granular insights into your bot’s performance but are also estimations requiring approximations. Total PnL remains the true bot PnL as it is all encompassing. For more details, you can refer to this article.

6. I tried to manually evaluate my profit for an order group in the order history of my Spot grid bot, but the profit seems significantly smaller than what I expected. Why could this be?

This difference in calculated profit is likely due to how initialization orders are handled for visualization purposes. Here’s why:

• Bot initialization orders:

  • When you first create your Spot grid bot, some of the buy and sell orders may be filled at better prices compared to their theoretical grid levels.

  • Example: If you set up a BTC/USDT grid with a range of 100,000 to 110,000 and 10 grids, and the market price is 102,000 at initialization, your theoretical buy orders above 102,000 will be placed between 103,000 and 109,000.

  • However, at initialization, these buy orders are filled at the market price (around 102,000).

• Profit calculation for order groups:

  • Let's say the top-most grid in your bot (between 109,000 to 110,000) has a sell order executed at 110,000.

  • You might expect the profit to be calculated based on a buy price of 102,000 and a sell price of 110,000.

  • However, for visualization purposes, the bot will consider the buy price to be the theoretical 109,000 (the price at which the grid was set up) rather than the actual market price at the time of the order fill.

  • As a result, the profit displayed for this order group will appear lower than expected.

• Where the profit goes:

  • This is only a visualization consideration. The bot’s Total PnL is still accurate and reflects the actual profit.

  • Any profits that are not included in the visualized order group (for example, profits from fills at better prices than their theoretical ones) will be accounted for under Unpaired PnL.

If the orders in the order group aren't part of the initialization orders, you can refer to the actual calculation here.

7. Why can’t I withdraw all of my Grid Profits?

Grid Profits is part of your Total PnL and serves as a visual metric. However, not all of these profits are available for withdrawal. In some cases, profits are used for various purposes, such as:

• Editing your bot settings

• Adding investments or reinvesting profits

• Previously being manually withdrawn from the bot

Additionally, some profits may be kept to support future orders or to cover rounding differences that cannot be withdrawn. This ensures your grid operates smoothly and that all future orders can be successfully executed.For more detailed information, refer to this section for further explanation.

8. Can I edit my bot parameters once my bot is active? How does it work, and are there any risks?

Yes, you can edit core parameters, such as the bot range and grid number, while your bot is running.However, keep in mind that when you modify your bot’s settings, it effectively re-initializes the orders without stopping the bot. Here’s how this works:

Example:

Let’s say you have a BTC/USDT bot with a range of 100,000 to 110,000 and 10 grids. Initially, you invested 1,000 USDT when the BTC price was around 102,000. After a few days, the BTC price rises to 108,000, and your bot has already completed a number of transactions.

If you believe BTC will range between 105,000 and 115,000 going forward, you decide to adjust the grid range. When you do this:

• Re-initialization: your bot will cancel any existing orders and place new orders based on your updated range and current assets.

• Current sets: for example, let’s say your bot now holds 900 USDT and 0.001 BTC. These funds will be used to place the new buy and sell orders according to your new settings.

• Fresh start: the process is similar to stopping your bot, withdrawing your assets, and setting up a new bot with the new parameters, except this happens automatically.

• Order groups reset: the order groups will reset, and the bot will generate a new set of buy and sell orders based on the updated configuration.

Risks and considerations:

• The bot may buy or sell assets at the market price when re-initializing, depending on current market conditions.

• If you are uncomfortable with this re-initialization process, you can choose to stop the bot manually and create a new bot with the desired settings and investment.

• Also, keep in mind that when you edit your bot, any accumulated grid profits that haven't been withdrawn or used will be re-invested into the bot. However, any interest generated from Simple Earn (for users with this feature enabled) will not be reinvested at this time.

Additionally, you can also edit your exit settings, such as Take Profit (TP), Stop Loss (SL), or Stop Conditions at any time.

9. Can I add investment to my bot while it’s running? How does it work, and are there any risks?

Yes, you can add more quote currency to your bot at any time during its operation. You also have the option to include any unwithdrawn profits that haven’t been used yet.

The process is similar to what was described here. Here’s how it works:

• Re-initialization: When you add more funds, your bot will cancel existing orders and place new ones based on your updated assets and the additional investment.

• Current Assets + Top-up: For example, if your bot currently holds 900 USDT and 0.001 BTC, and you add 500 USDT, the bot will now have 1,400 USDT and 0.001 BTC to place new buy and sell orders according to the updated settings.

• Fresh Start: The process is similar to stopping your bot, withdrawing your assets, and setting up a new bot with the same parameters, but with the added investment. However, this happens automatically when you add funds.

• Order Groups Reset: The order groups will be reset, and the bot will generate a new set of buy and sell orders based on the updated configuration.

Risks and considerations:

• The bot may buy or sell at the market price when it re-initializes after you add investment, depending on market conditions at that time.

• If you’re uncomfortable with this re-initialization process, you can choose to stop the bot manually and create a new one with the updated settings and investment.

• Any interest generated from Simple Earn (for users with this feature enabled) will not be considered for reinvestment at this time.

10. How does Trailing Up work in Spot grid?

The Trailing Up feature enables your grid to follow the price if it continues rising beyond the initial upper limit. This function moves the entire grid upward automatically to stay aligned with the price movement. It allows your trading bot to stay active longer by removing the lowest grid and adding a new grid at the top.When the current price hits the grid's upper limit:

1. The lowest buy order at the grid's lower limit is canceled.

2. A new buy order is placed at the original grid's upper limit.

3. Once the buy order is filled, a corresponding sell order is placed one grid level above the original upper limit.

4. In effect, the entire grid shifts upward, including both the upper and lower limits.

Other Considerations:

• If you set a Take Profit (TP) by price, the TP doesn't move with the grid. The TP value remains fixed and is set when configured.

• If you set a Stop Loss (SL) by price, the SL will move upwards in sync with the grid, shifting at the same interval as the lower grid limit.

11. How does Trailing Down work in Spot grid?

Unlike Trailing Up, Trailing Down functions differently. This feature allows the entire grid to extend downward if the price continues to fall below the grid's lower limit (for example, the grid range expands downwards and gets larger than the originally set range). As the price drops, the grid follows automatically, but it's important to note that each extension of the grid requires additional capital from your main account to fund the new orders. If there aren't enough funds, the grid won't extend further.You can choose to reserve funds in advance, at the time of bot creation, to ensure your grid has the capital it needs during a Trailing Down event. If not, the bot will attempt to draw from the main account balance when needed.When the current price hits the grid's lower limit:

• A new buy order is placed one level below the grid’s lower limit, using additional funds from the main account. (If there are insufficient funds, no buy order will be placed.)

  • Once this buy order is filled, a sell order will correspondingly be raised to complete the order group.

• The grid is then extended downward, shifting the lower limit one level down, while the upper limit remains static.

Other considerations:

• Both Take Profit (TP) and Stop Loss (SL) levels do not move with the grid when trailing down. These values remain fixed, as set during configuration.

12. What is the Simple Earn integration with Spot grid? What is its effectiveness?

When you set up a Spot grid, a series of orders are placed at different levels based on your grid range. However, if you're using a wide range, many of these orders are essentially dormant, waiting for significant price movements to trigger them. For example, if you create a Spot grid for BTC/USDT with a range of 80,000 to 150,000 and 200 grid levels, but the current market price is 110,000, the orders near the extremes of the range remain dormant until the price moves significantly in either direction.

Instead of letting these orders sit idle, you can enable Simple Earn integration. This feature allows you to cancel a portion of your orders that are further away from the market price and use the funds to subscribe to Simple Earn. This way, you can earn passive yield on those funds while still maintaining your Spot grid strategy. As the market price moves, the canceled orders are automatically reactivated, ensuring your Spot grid continues to operate as planned.

13. How do I set my Simple Earn settings, and what do they mean?

To get started with Simple Earn, you first need to understand the two key terms: Active Range and Earn Range.

• Active Range: this is the price range where your grid orders are active and unchanged. These orders are not canceled and remain in place during market fluctuations.

• Earn Range: this is the price range in your grid where orders are canceled, and the funds are used to subscribe to Simple Earn for passive yield.

Both ranges adjust dynamically based on the current market price.When setting your Simple Earn allocation, you determine how your Active Range will work. Here’s how it works in practice:Let’s say you have a BTC/USDT grid with a range of 80,000 to 150,000 and 200 grid levels. You decide to set your Active Range as ±25% of the grid range from the current price.

For example:

• The grid range is 150,000 - 80,000 = 70,000.

• 25% of the grid range = 17,500.

• If the current price is 110,000, the Active Range will be 110,000 - 17,500 to 110,000 + 17,500, which gives you an Active Range from 92,500 to 127,500.

So, any prices between 80,000 to 92,500 and 127,500 to 150,000 will fall into the Earn Range, where orders will be canceled and funds will be allocated to Simple Earn. The Active and Earn Ranges adjust dynamically as the market price changes over time.As the market price changes, your Active Range and Earn Range will automatically adjust ahead of time, ensuring there’s enough time for orders to be canceled and placed accordingly, so your grid operations remain unaffected.You can always visit your Bot Details to see:

• The amount of funds currently subscribed to Simple Earn.

• The interest earned so far.

• A live view of both your Active Range and Earn Range.

14. What actions are copied when I copy a profit-sharing bot from a lead trader in the Marketplace?

Note: the following applies specifically when copying a bot under the profit-sharing model from a lead trader.

When you copy a bot, most of the basic settings, such as the grid range and number of grids, will be inherited from the lead trader’s bot. Advanced settings, like Trailing Up/Down or entry/exit conditions, will also be copied over. However, Simple Earn allocation will not be activated on the copied bot, even if it’s enabled on the lead bot. Some core settings might be hidden from view as they were special configurations chosen by the lead trader.

It’s important to note that actions performed by the lead bot during operation, such as editing parameters, adding investments, or withdrawing profits, will not be copied to the bot you’re running. Additionally, if the lead bot is stopped, the copied bot will also stop automatically, with any assets being sold at market price.

15. How can I stop my Spot grid bot?

You have multiple ways to stop your Spot grid bot, both manually and automatically:

• Manually stopping the bot:

  • To stop your bot manually, simply open the Bot Details window and select the Stop button.

  • If you're not a lead bot trader, you will be presented with two options:

    • Sell your bot assets at market price, or

    • Return the assets to your trading account.

Note: lead bot traders are only able to stop the bot and sell assets at the market price.

• Setting exits at bot creation:

  • You can set your Take Profit (TP) and Stop Loss (SL) levels when creating the bot.

  • These settings can also be edited at any time while the bot is running, allowing you to adjust your strategy as needed.

  • Once your TP/SL is activated, the bot will act according to your settings and may sell your assets at the market price if you've configured it to do so.

• Setting Stop Conditions:

  • For greater customization, you can configure Stop Conditions based on:

    • Price or RSI triggers

    • TradingView signals

  • Once a stop condition is activated, the bot will act according to your settings and may sell your assets at the market price if you've configured it to do so.