DCA FAQ

general questions what is an exchange? an exchange is a platform where you can trade cryptocurrencies, including buying, selling, or exchanging one cryptocurrency for another what are long and short strategies in dca bots? long strategy buys assets expecting their value to increase over time short strategy sells assets expecting their value to decrease what is base order amount? base order amount in dca is the initial order amount you specify for your trades you can set it in two ways as a percentage of your total capital as a fixed (absolute) amount for futures trading specifically, the base order amount represents your margin balance (without leverage) for example, if you input 100 usdt as your base order amount and select 5x leverage, your final trade size would be 500 usdt the min order amount for the base order amount comes from selected exchange and can be different for different exchanges what is an extra order?💡 an extra order is opened when the price moves unfavorably it matches the initial order type (buy/sell) to help mitigate potential losses and potentially improve the trade's outcome how does take profit work?💡 for short trades you sell at a higher price and buy back at a lower price to gain more assets for long trades you buy at a lower price and sell at a higher price to gain more quote currency for example you sold 1 btc at a price of 25000 usdt when the price drops to 24000 usdt (your take profit price), you buy btc using 25000 usdt as a result, you receive 1 04 btc, which means you have made a profit of 0 04 btc for a long trade, it works the other way around you initially buy at a lower price and then sell at a higher price for example you buy 1 btc at a price of 25000 usdt, and your desired take profit price is 25500 usdt once the market price reaches 25500 usdt, you sell 1 btc in this case, your profit is 500 usdt what is trailing take profit?💡 it's an order type that helps lock in profits by adjusting the take profit level as the price moves favorably it maintains a set percentage distance from the current price what's the difference between market and limit orders?💡 market order executes immediately at current market price, with no guaranteed price limit order executes only at specified price or better what's the profit currency?💡 in dca, profit currency refers to the currency in which you want to receive your trading profits you have two options quote currency if selected, your profits will be collected in the quote currency (e g , usdt in a btc/usdt pair) base currency if selected, your profits will be collected in the base currency (e g , btc in a btc/usdt pair) for example in a long trade with usdt as profit currency if you buy 1 btc at 100000usdt and sell at 100500 usdt, your profit would be 500 usdt in a short trade with btc as profit currency if you sell 1 btc at 100000 usdt and the price drops to 99500 usdt, you could buy back 1 005 btc, resulting in a 0 005 btc profit what are locked and reserved funds?💡 locked funds funds in your wallet locked by sagemaster for open trades reserved funds sum of all open limit orders created by dca assists, locked on exchange how is max amount for assist usage calculated for multipair assists? we calculate max amount for assist usage in the same way as we do for single pair assist ( for 1 trade) if the max active deals > 1, we need to multiply the max amount for assist usage by this number ( for 1 trade) max extra order price deviation is calculated in the same way as we do for single pair assist what types of orders does the assist use? the initial order can be either market or limit extra orders are always limit orders take profit orders are limit orders by default but become market orders if trailing take profit is enabled stop loss orders are market orders if put “max active deals” to 1, and “signal handling for open deals → max concurrent deals for the pair” to 4 what setting will follow the dca? what is the difference between these options? max active deals general limit by open trades for dca max concurrent deals for the pair how many trades can open for one pair if you put “max active deals” to 1, and “signal handling for open deals → max concurrent deals for the pair” to 4 only 1 trade can be open entry order expiration what is entry order expiration? entry order expiration is a feature in the dca assist that automatically cancels entry orders if they are not executed within a specified timeframe this prevents the execution of stale trades and helps maintain an up to date trading strategy does this feature work with all order types? no, this feature is only applicable when the start order type is set to "limit" and the entry order expiration is enabled what happens when an order expires? when an order reaches its expiration time without being executed, the system automatically cancels it to prevent stale trade execution smart take profit what is smart take profit? smart take profit is a feature that allows you to set multiple take profit levels in your trading strategy, where you can specify both the percentage and specific amount for each level to automate your profits how do i configure smart take profit levels? for each take profit level, you need to set two parameters take profit % the profit percentage you want to achieve amount to sell the percentage of your order to use for that specific take profit level how does smart take profit work with multiple levels? the system executes take profit orders sequentially based on your configured levels for example, if you set tp1 1% profit with 50% amount tp2 2% profit with 50% amount each level will be executed when its price target is reached, using the specified amount of your position what happens to extra orders in smart take profit? when extra orders are executed, their amounts are added to the remaining take profit levels for example, if an extra order of 50 usdt is executed, this amount will be available for the next take profit level what is trailing take profit with smart take profit? trailing take profit is a feature that adjusts to the last take profit level it starts trailing once the highest take profit price is reached, using the amount specified for that level how does trailing take profit work with multiple tp levels? let’s look at the example tp1 1% (50% amount) tp2 2% (25% amount) tp3 4% (25% amount) ttp 0 5% the trailing will begin after tp3 price is reached, using 25% of the remaining amount can i modify take profit levels after setting them? yes, you can adjust your take profit levels in the strategy settings, including both the profit percentages and the amounts to sell at each level what happens when all take profit levels are reached? once all take profit levels have been executed, including any trailing take profit orders, the position will be fully closed according to your specified parameters smart trailing what is smart trailing? smart trailing is a feature that provides dynamic stop loss adjustments as each take profit level is reached it offers options to set stop loss at breakeven or move it to the previous take profit level, enhancing risk management in trading how does "move stop loss to previous tp" work? lets say you have 2 tp levels at 1%, 2%, and 3% profit when this option is enabled after first tp is hit the stop loss is adjusted to breakeven level (0 + fee = 0 1%) after second tp is hit stop loss moves to the first tp level after third tp is hit stop loss moves to the second tp level this ensures that profits are progressively secured as each tp level is reached how does "set stop loss at breakeven" work? with this option after the first tp is reached, the stop loss automatically moves to breakeven (0% + fees ≈ 0 1%) the stop loss remains at breakeven even when subsequent tp levels are hit this ensures you won't lose money on the trade once the first profit target is reached can smart trailing work with multiple take profit levels? yes, smart trailing works with multiple take profit levels you can set different tp levels (e g , 1%, 2%, 3%) and the system will adjust the stop loss according to your chosen strategy as each level is reached what happens to partial positions when using smart trailing? the system manages partial positions automatically for example, you can sell 25% at first tp, 50% at second tp, and the remaining position at the final tp, while the stop loss adjusts according to your chosen smart trailing strategy breakeven adjustments what are breakeven adjustments? breakeven adjustments is a feature that automates the process of managing stop loss settings based on market conditions it allows you to automatically adjust the stop loss to breakeven or predetermined profit levels as your trade moves favorably how do multiple breakeven levels work? multiple levels allow for progressive stop loss adjustments for example level 1 at 1% profit → sl moves to 0% level 2 at 2% profit → sl moves to 1% level 3 at 3% profit → sl moves to 2% each level provides increasing protection of profits as the trade moves in your favor how do breakeven adjustments work with smart trailing? when combined with smart trailing the system follows the "first achieved, first fulfilled" principle stop loss adjustments occur based on both take profit levels and breakeven conditions the system automatically chooses the most favorable stop loss position based on which condition is met first for example, tp1 0,5% tp2 1% tp3 2% tp4 5% smart trailing move stop loss to the previous take profit breakeven 1 1%→0% breakeven 2 2%→1% breakeven 3 3%→2% when the trade’s pnl reaches 0 5%, the sl will be 0% when the trade’s pnl reaches 1%, the sl will be 0 5% when the trade’s pnl reaches 2% the sl will be 1% when the trade’s pnl reaches 3% the sl will be 2% what happens when a stop loss adjustment is triggered? when a trigger level is reached the stop loss automatically moves to the predetermined level the new stop loss remains active until either hit or another adjustment level is reached the trade closes if either the adjusted stop loss or take profit is reached can i use different combinations of breakeven levels and take profits? yes, you can create complex strategies combining multiple breakeven levels multiple take profit levels smart trailing features the system will handle these combinations automatically according to your settings tradingview alert what is a tradingview alert in dca assist? a tradingview alert is a trigger condition that can be used to automate your dca (dollar cost averaging) assists it allows you to set up automated trading based on specific market conditions or signals from tradingview how do i set up a tradingview alert? to set up a tradingview alert select "tradingview alerts" as your trigger condition copy the unique webhook url provided in the interface create a new alert in tradingview and paste the webhook url use one of the provided alert message templates save your alert settings in tradingview what happens when a new signal comes in while a deal is already open? you have three options ignore new signals start a new deal (if maximum concurrent deals limit is not exceeded) execute an extra order if dca is enabled (subject to maximum extra orders limit) where can i find detailed instructions for setting up tradingview webhooks? you can find detailed instructions by clicking the "how it works" link in the trigger condition step of the setup process why can't i see the alert templates immediately? alert templates are only visible after you create the ai assist this is a security measure to ensure proper setup and configuration follow provider's tp/sl configuration what is the follow provider's tp/sl configuration feature? this is a feature that allows you to automatically copy the take profit and stop loss settings from trade ideas created by the provider it includes two main options "follow trade idea provider configuration" for smart take profit "follow provider's sl configuration" for stop loss settings where is this feature available? the "follow trade idea provider configuration" option is available within smart take profit settings the "follow provider's sl configuration" option is available when stop loss is turned on why should i use this feature? you should use this feature if you want to exactly match your provider's trading settings and strategy it helps you stay aligned with your traders' strategies and potentially achieve similar results how are the take profit levels distributed? when following a provider's configuration the total amount is divided equally among all take profit levels for example, with 4 tps and 100 usdt total, each tp level gets 25 usdt (25% of the total amount) can you provide an example of how it works? if a provider sets tp1 1% profit tp2 2% profit tp3 3% profit tp4 5% profit sl 10% with a 100 usdt base order, the system will automatically distribute 25 usdt (25%) for each tp level stop loss will be set at 10% for the entire position can i modify the settings after copying from the provider? while you can turn the feature on or off, when it's enabled, it will exactly match the provider's settings to use different settings, you would need to disable the follow configuration options does this feature affect my order amount? no, the feature only copies the tp and sl percentage levels and distributes your specified order amount evenly across the take profit levels your base order amount remains as you set it extra orders what are extra orders? extra orders are additional trades opened when the price moves in a non profitable direction they help mitigate potential losses by taking advantage of price movements in the opposite direction what settings are available for extra orders? when dca is enabled, you can configure extra order size the amount to be used by this assist to place extra orders price deviation the percentage of the price from the initial price that will trigger the creation of the extra order for example, price deviation is 1% , so in a long trade if the price goes down by 1%, the extra order will be placed; for short trade if the price goes up by 1% the extra order will be placed price deviation compound step defines the distance from the last extra order that will trigger the creation of the next eo for example, let’s say price deviation compound step is 2%, so for long trade, if the price continues to go down after placing the first extra order, the second extra order will be placed when the price goes down by 2 % from the first extra order; for short trade if the price does up by 2% from the fist eo, the second eo will be placed max active extra orders count defines how many active extra order will be placed at the same time max extra orders defines how many extra orders will be placed in general extra order volume compound step the volume of each new extra order will be calculated by multiplying the previous extra order size by this value for example, is you set 1 here, all extra orders will be equal to the extra order size given above; and if you set 2, each next extra order will be multiplied by 2 (e g if first eo is 20, next eo, will be 40 (20 2), third eo = 80 (40 2) what types of orders does the bot use when placing extra orders? extra orders are always limit orders why the “maximum extra order deviation is greater than stop loss value” error the logic is the trade should place first all extra orders and then stop loss example scenario stop loss set at 10% below the entry price extra orders configured to activate up to 15% below the entry price in this case, the bot is prepared to place safety orders down to a 15% drop, but the stop loss would already be triggered at a 10% drop this mismatch leads to the error because the stop loss would stop the bot from using all planned safety orders signal handling for open deals in strategy settings 3rd option “immediately execute an extra order” the extra order size and settings will be the same as we step up later in the extra orders section? yes what is the difference between price deviation compound step and extra order volume compound step as both are based on extra order amount? price deviation compound step this step increases the price deviation incrementally for each additional extra order, making each order more spaced out as the price moves against the trade formula it compounds based on the previous deviation, increasing the gap between each extra order if the initial deviation is, for example, 1%, and the price deviation compound step is 2, then ex 1st safety order 1% below the entry price 2nd safety order 1% 2 = 2% further than the previous order 3rd safety order 2% 2 = 4% further than the previous extra order volume compound step this step compounds based on the initial order volume, making each extra order larger than the previous one it compounds the volume of each extra order if the initial extra order volume is, for example, $10, and the extra order volume compound step is 1 5, then 1st safety order $10 2nd safety order $10 1 5 = $15 3rd safety order $15 1 5 = $22 5 summary key differences price deviation compound step affects the distance between each extra order extra order volume compound step affects the size of each extra order trigger conditions what is a trigger condition? this is a condition which will trigger the creation of the trade when it is met trade ideas provider means that the trade will start only after the signal from ti provider is received start trade instantly means that you will be able to initiate a trade manually from the dca interface tradingview alert it allows you to set up automated trading based on specific market conditions or signals from tradingview what are the main ways to trigger trades? there are three main triggering methods⁠ trade idea provider connect with external providers for trade signals⁠⁠ tradingview alert use custom alerts from tradingview for trade execution⁠⁠ start trade instantly direct control for hands on trade management⁠⁠ how does the trade idea provider option work? when this option is selected, users can pick from their connected trade idea providers the new trade will be started once the signal that would match assist strategy position setting, is received from a ti provider what is “ignore the exchange from the trade idea that was sent by a provider” and how does it work? the "ignore the exchange from the trade idea" feature allows you to execute trades on your selected exchange regardless of which exchange is mentioned in the trade idea for example if you're using kucoin but want to receive trade ideas from providers who only use binance, you can enable this option when enabled, your dca will create trades on your chosen exchange even if the signal comes from a different exchange if this option is disabled, the dca will only execute trades when the exchange in the trade idea matches your selected exchange advanced settings how the cooldown between deals works? cooldown between deals" is a risk management tool that controls trade frequency by introducing a mandatory pause between consecutive trades it helps prevent overtrading by forcing a waiting period before starting new trades for example, if the specified pause is around 1 h, the dca will not create a new trade sooner than 1 hour after the last trade even if new signal are received how the “don’t start deal if the daily volume is less than” works? here’s how it works it helps avoid starting trades on low volume days, which is a risk management measure the value must be greater than 0 if you enter a negative amount, you'll get an error message and won't be able to create the dca assist this feature helps ensure that trades are only executed in markets with sufficient liquidity and trading activity, which can help reduce risks associated with low volume trading environments dca futures what is the difference between spot and futures trading? here are the key differences between spot and futures trading spot trading involves direct ownership of the cryptocurrency ideal for long term investors who want to own the actual asset generally lower risk due to no leverage immediate settlement of trades futures trading contract based trading with no direct ownership of the asset suitable for experienced traders speculating on price movements offers high leverage options allows profit from both rising and falling markets has specific expiration dates here's a practical example in spot trading, if you buy 1 bitcoin at $100,000, you immediately own that 1 btc in your wallet in futures trading, if you buy 1 bitcoin at $100,000 using 10x leverage, you only need $10,000 as margin if bitcoin rises to $110,000, you'd profit $10,000 (100% return on margin), but if it drops to $90,000, you'd lose your entire $10,000 margin which assists have futures support? dca what settings are unique to dca futures ? here are the key differences in settings for futures dca compared to spot dca position type settings in futures, you can select long, short, or both positions you'll need to choose isolated margin type (cross margin coming soon) leverage level futures trading includes leverage settings, which isn't available in spot trading leverage allows you to control larger positions with less capital margin parameters futures requires setting up margin parameters, including isolated margin mode each position has its own separate margin allocation position margin minimum amount needed to open a leveraged position which futures exchanges are supported? we support the following exchanges currently binance futures (usdt m) bybit futures bitget futures in the upcoming releases, new future exchanges are going to be added what is “base order margin” and “leveraged order amount”? in futures trading, there are two important amounts to understand base order amount (margin) this is the initial amount you input without leverage for example, if you input 100 usdt as your base order amount, this represents your margin balance leveraged amount (final order amount) this is the total position size after applying leverage for example if you input 100 usdt as base order amount and select 5x leverage, your final trade size would be 500 usdt here's a practical example if you want to trade bitcoin futures with 10x leverage and have $10,000 as your base order margin, you can control a position worth $100,000 what margin types are available? there are two margin types cross and isolated currently, only isolated margin is available isolated margin treats each position independently, isolating the margin required for each individual position what are position types in futures trading? long positions betting on price increases short positions betting on price decreases both positions available for select ti providers trigger condition what is position type “both” in futures trading and what is its benefit? the "both" position type in futures trading means that the ai assist can open both long and short positions this feature is specifically available when using select ti providers trigger condition the main benefit of using the "both" position type is flexibility in trading strategy it allows you to take advantage of market movements in either direction whether prices are rising (through long positions) or falling (through short positions) respond to different market conditions without needing to manually switch between long and short position types what are minimum and maximum leverage values? futures trading on sagemaster offers leverage levels ranging from 1x to 75x here's what each level means 1x no leverage; you trade with your own funds 10x for every $1 you deposit, you can trade $10 worth of contracts 75x for every $1 you deposit, you can trade $75 worth of contracts remember that while higher leverage can increase potential profits, it also amplifies potential losses, so it should be used with caution the default leverage value is 5x note that leverage levels may vary based on the exchange how does leverage work in trading? leverage in trading allows you to control a larger position with a smaller amount of capital a leverage of 2 1 means that for every $1 you have, you can control $2 of a trading position similarly, a leverage of 10 1 means you can control $10 for every $1 you have the money doesn't actually come from the exchange , but rather it's borrowed from the exchange to open larger positions the exchange provides the leverage as a service, allowing traders to amplify their potential profits or losses it's important to note that while leverage can increase potential gains, it also magnifies potential losses, so it should be used with caution and proper risk management what is the liquidation price? the liquidation price is the price level at which your position will be automatically closed by the exchange to prevent further losses it occurs when your margin balance falls below the maintenance margin requirement for different position types, the liquidation price percentage is calculated as follows long positions 100/leverage short positions +100/leverage for example, if you're using 20x leverage, a price movement of 5% (100/20) in the wrong direction would trigger liquidation for a short position, this means if the price rises by 5%, and for a long position, if the price falls by 5% what happens during liquidation? liquidation occurs when your account's margin balance falls below the maintenance margin requirement when this happens, the exchange may automatically close out your positions to prevent further losses why can't i cancel a futures trade? you cannot cancel an open futures position by canceling the trade the position will remain open instead, you can either go to the exchange to cancel the open order and close the position, or close the trade at the current market price how to calculate minimum order amount? our system has this validation from the exchange side should calculate cost price for long positions cost price = ∑ (buy quantity buy price) / position size (since the initial position was opened) in this case, any additional long positions following the initial position will be accounted for and recalculated to determine the new cost price for short positions cost price= ∑ (sell quantity sell price)/ position size (since the initial position was opened) in this case, any additional short positions following the initial position will be accounted for and recalculated to determine the new cost price a weighted average takes into account the quantity and price purchased with each trade in other words, if you buy an additional 2 btc, the price you pay will affect the average more than if you bought 1 btc when a position returns to zero or changes direction, the cost price will be recalculated how is the position margin calculated? position margin is the minimum amount needed to open a leveraged position for example, at 10x leverage, a position worth 1,000 bnb would require an initial margin of 100 bnb (10% of the total order) what is contract value? contract value is the total position value, calculated by multiplying the number of contracts by the contract size and current market price what is the one way mode and hedge mode in future trading? in futures trading, one way mode and hedge mode are two different position modes that define how traders can manage their positions in a contract these modes are common in exchanges like binance and are used to optimize trading strategies one way mode definition in this mode, a trader can hold only one position per contract —either long (buy) or short (sell) if the trader opens a position in the opposite direction, it will close or reduce the existing position instead of creating a new one use case suitable for traders who focus on directional trading, where they believe the price will move either up or down commonly used by traders with straightforward strategies like trend following or breakout trading example a trader is holding a long position of 10 contracts in btc/usdt if they place a sell order for 5 contracts, the long position will be reduced to 5 contracts if they sell 10 contracts, the long position will be closed hedge mode definition in this mode, a trader can hold both long and short positions simultaneously on the same contract these positions are managed separately and do not offset each other use case ideal for traders who want to hedge their positions or employ advanced strategies like arbitrage or delta neutral trading useful in situations where traders expect short term fluctuations but long term growth (or vice versa) example a trader holds a long position of 10 contracts and opens a short position of 5 contracts in btc/usdt both positions coexist the trader can manage them independently, e g , closing or adding to either one without affecting the other comparison feature one way mode hedge mode position type single position per contract simultaneous long and short offset behavior new opposite orders offset positions orders do not offset positions use cases directional trading hedging, advanced strategies flexibility less flexible more flexible risk management simplified complex but versatile how to choose a mode new traders start with one way mode for simplicity and reduced complexity advanced traders use hedge mode for sophisticated strategies like protecting existing positions from adverse price movements taking advantage of short term volatility while holding a long term position both modes can be switched in the account settings of most futures trading platforms always ensure no active positions exist before switching modes