Setting up your first DCA Assist

getting started with sagemaster dca if you're new to automated cryptocurrency trading, setting up your first dca (dollar cost averaging) bot with sagemaster can significantly enhance your trading experience this guide will walk you through the complete process of creating and configuring your first dca bot, from connecting your exchange to optimizing your trading parameters prerequisites before setting up your dca assist, ensure you have a sagemaster account an account with a supported exchange (binance, bybit, or bitget) api keys from your exchange with trading permissions basic understanding of trading concepts (order types, stop loss, take profit) step 1 connect your exchange first, you'll need to connect sagemaster to your cryptocurrency exchange log in to your sagemaster account navigate to the exchange connection section select your preferred exchange (binance, bybit, or bitget) enter your api key and secret key from the exchange test the connection to ensure everything is working properly for binance users log in to binance and open the api management page create a new api key and ensure trading permissions are enabled turn off "default security controls for unrestricted api keys" copy the api key and secret key paste them into the corresponding fields in sagemaster step 2 choose between spot and futures depending on your trading goals and risk tolerance, you'll need to decide whether to use spot or futures trading spot trading direct ownership of assets no leverage (lower risk) suitable for long term accumulation limited by your available capital futures trading contract based (no actual ownership) leverage available (higher risk/reward) can profit from both rising and falling markets requires careful risk management select the appropriate option in sagemaster based on your preference for beginners, spot trading is generally recommended due to its lower risk profile step 3 configure basic dca settings now it's time to set up the core parameters of your dca assist navigate to "create dca assist" in the sagemaster interface name your strategy for easy reference configure the following settings trading pair selection choose single pair or multi pair select the cryptocurrency pairs you want to trade (e g , btc/usdt, eth/usdt) strategy settings position type long (for buying), short (for selling), or both (if applicable) base order amount set your initial investment amount for futures select margin type (isolated recommended for beginners) and leverage level trigger condition select how your dca assist will initiate trades start trade instantly manually trigger trades select ti provider follow signals from a trade idea provider tradingview alerts execute trades based on custom tradingview alerts more info https //docs sagemaster io/smart trade/order options step 4 configure extra orders extra orders are what make dca trading powerful they automatically execute additional purchases as the price drops (for long positions) or rises (for short positions) enable extra orders in your strategy settings configure the following parameters extra order parameters extra order size amount to be used for each extra order price deviation percentage drop/rise that triggers extra orders (e g , 1%) price deviation compound step how the deviation increases for subsequent orders (e g , 1 2) max extra orders maximum number of extra orders to place extra order volume compound step how the size increases for subsequent orders (e g , 1 5) for beginners, start with conservative settings 1 3 extra orders 1 2% initial price deviation 1 1 1 3 compound steps step 5 set up take profit strategy take profit settings determine when and how your bot will exit profitable positions simple take profit set a single percentage target (e g , 3%) when the average position reaches this profit level, the entire position is closed smart take profit for more advanced exit strategies select the "smart take profit" option add multiple take profit levels (e g , tp1 1%, tp2 2%, tp3 4%) specify the percentage of your position to sell at each level optionally enable smart trailing to dynamically adjust stop loss as take profits are hit step 6 configure stop loss and risk management proper risk management is crucial, especially for futures trading enable stop loss set your stop loss percentage (e g , 5%) consider enabling additional risk management features breakeven adjustments configure your stop loss to automatically move to breakeven or predetermined profit levels as your trade moves favorably enable manual breakeven set profit distance and stop loss adjustment levels add multiple levels if desired entry order expiration for limit orders, set an expiration time to prevent execution of stale orders select "limit" as start order type enable entry order expiration set the expiration time (e g , 60 minutes) step 7 advanced settings (optional) for more experienced traders, consider configuring these advanced features signal handling for open deals determine how your bot handles new signals when a deal is already open ignore new signals start a new deal (if the maximum concurrent deals limit is not exceeded) execute an extra order (if dca is enabled) cooldown between deals set a mandatory pause between consecutive trades to prevent overtrading volume filters set minimum daily volume requirements to avoid trading illiquid markets step 8 review and create your assist before finalizing your dca assist, carefully review all your settings check your base order and extra order parameters for appropriate sizing confirm your take profit and stop loss levels align with your trading goals verify that your risk management settings provide adequate protection ensure you have sufficient funds in your exchange account to cover all potential orders once you're satisfied with your configuration click "create ai assist" to finalize your assist your assist will now be visible in your sagemaster dashboard monitor its performance regularly and make adjustments as needed step 9 monitor and optimize your dca assist after your assist is up and running, it's important to monitor its performance and make adjustments as needed performance monitoring check your dashboard regularly to view open positions and completed trades look for patterns in winning and losing trades pay attention to how often extra orders are triggered and whether they improve performance strategy optimization based on your assist's performance, consider making these adjustments adjust take profit levels based on market volatility fine tune extra order parameters if they're triggering too frequently or not enough modify stop loss settings based on your risk tolerance and market conditions test different trigger conditions to find the most effective approach using the dca backtest feature to improve your strategy without risking real capital, use sagemaster's dca backtest feature configure your strategy settings as desired click the "backtest" button in the dca creation interface review metrics like total return %, max drawdown %, win rate %, and profit factor make adjustments and run additional backtests to compare results this iterative process helps you optimize your strategy before deploying it with real capital best practices for new dca traders start small begin with smaller position sizes until you're comfortable with how the system works and confident in your strategy stay conservative initially use moderate leverage (if using futures) set reasonable take profit targets keep extra order parameters conservative implement proper stop losses diversify your approach consider running multiple dca assists with different strategies or on different pairs to diversify your risk continuous learning the cryptocurrency market evolves rapidly stay informed and be prepared to adapt your strategies accordingly troubleshooting common issues if you encounter issues with your dca assist, check these common problems "not enough money" error ensure you have sufficient funds in your exchange account check that your base order and extra order sizes are appropriate for your balance consider reducing leverage if using futures trading "off quotes" or "invalid price" errors these typically occur during high volatility consider using market orders instead of limit orders retry the operation when market conditions stabilize "trading closed" error verify that the market for your selected pair is currently open check if the exchange has any maintenance periods scheduled more common errors can be found here https //docs sagemaster io/dca assist/troubleshooting https //docs sagemaster io/dca assist/troubleshooting , or take a look into our faq conclusion setting up your first dca assist with sagemaster is an exciting step toward more systematic and emotionally controlled trading by following this guide and starting with conservative settings, you can begin to harness the power of automated dca trading while minimizing risks remember that no trading strategy is guaranteed to be profitable, and markets can be unpredictable continue to learn, adjust, and optimize your approach based on results and changing market conditions happy trading! 📈 the sagemaster team