This is a specialized course tailored for traders who have a firm grasp of basic trading concepts and are looking to expand their arsenal with advanced strategies specific to the cryptocurrency markets. This course zeroes in on the intricacies of various trading techniques, offering a deep dive into the process that seasoned traders employ to navigate the volatile crypto space.

Crypto Trading Strategies

Beginner Crypto Trading Strategies

<p><a href="https://gainium.io/grid-bot">Grid bots</a> are a great option for beginner and experienced traders to profit from the crypto market. They work by buying a fixed number of coins at predetermined prices and then selling them when the price reaches a higher level. This ensures that the trader always makes a profit, regardless of the market conditions. Grid bots also have the advantage of being able to trade in both directions, which means they can make profits whether the market is going up or down.</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://back.gainium.io/uploads/grid_strategy_8ef44b4ebf.svg" alt="grid strategy.svg"></figure><p>In this article, I share a grid bot setup I have been using successfully for many months, the super wide-range grid stack. This setup is a <a href="https://gainium.io/academy/trading-vs-investing#The_hybrid_trading-investing_approach">hybrid investing-trading approach</a> to crypto that has a relatively low risk and enjoys a decent ROI.</p><h2>Why the super wide-range grid stack?</h2><p>If you want the full background of the events that led to the creation of this strategy, you can read <a href="https://gainium.io/blog/gainium-alpha-release-and-the-story-that-brought-me-here">my story</a> on the blog. But the gist of it is that after the November ATH to nose-dive market meltdown, I decided to stop using risky bot strategies and focus on a setup that would allow me to sleep well at night no matter what the market decides to do next. My goal was to achieve continuous and steady profits with minimal risk.</p><p>Grid bots were the obvious choice due to their simplicity and their ability to generate continuous profits. All I needed to do is to come up with a system that would take advantage of any market condition. After some research, I decided to settle on a system of stacked grid bots that would cover the price action of the foreseeable future. Each grid bot runs on a price zone, and they have a specific configuration to take advantage of the predominant market condition for that zone.</p><p>The grid-stack setup process is as follows:</p><ol><li>Choose your coin</li><li>Define the price zones and allocate budgets</li><li>Set up the grid bot configuration for each zone</li><li>Run the bot</li><li>Boost the ROI of unused funds</li></ol><p>Let's dive into each step by going through an example: BTC-USDT</p><figure class="image"><img src="https://back.gainium.io/uploads/Grid_Stack_set_up_8e587b5364.webp" alt="Grid Stack set up.webp"></figure><h3>1. Choose your coin</h3><p>The first step is to choose the coin you want to grid trade. You can expect this setup to run for a long while so this has to be a coin that you are comfortable holding long term. I would choose a coin with enough price history to make setting up the price zones easier in the next step.</p><p>For our example, Bitcoin is a great choice, but any top 20 coins by market cap would be a good option. Lower market cap coins experience more volatility, which can turn into more profits when trading grid bots. However, make sure to be comfortable handling the extra risk.</p><h3>2. Define the price zones and allocate budgets</h3><p>The next step is to define the price zones and allocate how much funds you will be trading on each. I like to do it by finding the range that the coin spent most of the time for the last year or two. Then I divide that range into top, middle, and bottom. Finally, I added two extra zones, one under the bottom and another over the top. If you want to be super accurate, you can fine-tune the price ranges with support and resistance zones.</p><p>As for allocations, we will go over my standard template shortly. If you want to take on more risk, you can allocate more budget to zones 1 and 5.</p><p>In the example of BTC-USDT, the price range that covers most of the price action of the past two years goes from 18k-70k. So in this range I will have three main zones. The result for my zones and allocations is:</p><ul><li><strong>Zone 1</strong> or "Oh Shit! 💩" - below the nearest macro bottom, which is under $18k in this case. If Bitcoin breaks under this level it's a no man's land. This can be a great area to accumulate Bitcoin for the long term but great caution is advised due to high volatility and uncertainty. I am allocating 5% of the budget here.</li><li><strong>Zone 2</strong> or "Bear hug 🐻" - bottom range of the main zone, $18k to $35k. This is proper bear market territory, and Bitcoin will likely consolidate around this area while market conditions remain poor. It's a good time to accumulate Bitcoin in this zone, I usually allocate around 30% of the budget here.</li><li><strong>Zone 3</strong> or "Boring middle 🥱" - middle range of the main zone, $35k to $52.5k. This is actually the range that Bitcoin spent the most time in during the last 2 years. I wouldn't say that it's a bad time to accumulate but it's probably safer to start tampering down. From a profitability point of view, it's somewhat less interesting than zone 2 or 4, so I allocate a little less budget than zone 2 and 4, 20%.</li><li><strong>Zone 4</strong> or "Greedy bastard 🐂" - upper range of the main zone, $52.5k to $70k. This is bull zone territory. In this area people often get greedy and they hold on to their bags for way too long, thinking that it's going to the moon from there. While it's certainly possible to make a new ATH, this area should be traded with extreme caution as traders are very likely to take profits and put a lot of sell pressure. This is a great time to offload into stablecoins and be prepared for possible reversal.</li><li><strong>Zone 5</strong> or "To the moon 🚀" - Above ATH, over $70k. Every trader's dream is to buy in zone 1 and sell at the very peak of zone 5, but unless you have a crystal ball, I suggest not trying to time the perfect entry and exit. Instead, you should scale in and out, averaging your position as more favorable prices are available. When the price goes above the previous ATH it enters uncharted territory, and how high it can go it's anyone's guess. In this zone I will be taking profits consistently, knowing that I won't be able to sell at the very peak and being perfectly fine with it. I'm personally allocating 15% here.</li></ul><h3>3. Set up the grid bot configuration for each zone</h3><p>Each price zone can benefit from a specific grid bot configuration. The most important factors affecting the profitability of the bot in each zone will be the grid spacing and the profit currency.</p><p>For most people, the <a href="https://gainium.io/help/grid-step">grid step</a> it's going to be dependent on the available budget. This is because exchanges have a minimum order value, so the minimum budget you will need to run the bot is <strong>number of grids x minimum order value</strong>. If you are trading in Binance, the minimum order value is $10, so if your budget is $1000, you will have 100 grids to distribute across your 5 zones. Other exchanges like Kucoin have a very small minimum order and would allow you to have a lot more grids.</p><p>I like to have more grids on zone 2 and 4. Though you may think that zones 1 and 5 are better, the issue with them is that you don't have a clear floor or ceiling. For that reason, I use more grid spacing there in an attempt to cover as much as possible.</p><p>You can shoot for 1% spacing between grids if your budget allows. For BTC, ETH, and BNB I try to set the spacing at 0.5%, as they experience much less volatility than the rest of the market.</p><p>The next important consideration is the <a href="https://gainium.io/help/profit-in-base-and-quote">profit currency</a>. As a general rule, if you expect the value of the token to appreciate in the future, you should profit in base (BTC in our example), and if you expect it to depreciate, you should profit in quote (USDT in our example). Zones 1 and 2 are clear candidates to profit in base, while zones 4 and 5 are great to profit in quote. The profit currency for zone 3 would depend on your preference, but I would still choose to profit in base.</p><p>With that in mind, here are the resulting grid bot configurations for each zone:</p><ul><li><strong>Zone 1</strong>: Grid spacing: 2-3%. Profit currency: BTC.</li><li><strong>Zone 2</strong>: Grid spacing: 1%. Profit currency: BTC.</li><li><strong>Zone 3</strong>: Grid spacing: 1-2%. Profit currency: any.</li><li><strong>Zone 4</strong>: Grid spacing: 1%. Profit currency: USDT.</li><li><strong>Zone 5</strong>: Grid spacing: 2-3%. Profit currency: USDT.</li></ul><h3>4. Run the bot</h3><p>Once you have your grid bot configured, it's time to sit back and let it do its thing. The result of this strategy is peace of mind, as you will have a grid bot ready to take advantage of whatever market situation comes next.</p><p>It's important to note that for this strategy you should choose a platform that would allow you to manage the funds allocated for each bot intelligently. If your grid bot platform doesn't allow you to send only a portion of the orders at the time, you may encounter limitations as exchanges usually restrict the number of limit orders you can have for a particular coin pair at any given point (in Binance, for example, is 200 orders). In addition, having your funds locked in limit orders will prevent you from being able to use them to generate extra yield, as we will discuss in the next section.</p><p>If you are a Gainium user, you can activate <a href="https://gainium.io/help/smart-orders">smart orders</a>. Smart orders will ensure that only those orders close to the current price action are sent to exchange as a limit order, so most of your funds will be available. This will also ensure you don't run into exchange order limits.</p><h3>5. Boost the ROI of unused funds</h3><p>The advantage of the super wide-range grid stack is that it covers a lot of price action so you can expect to continuously generate profit over time, the disadvantage is that your funds are very spread out, and you only have a tiny portion "at work" at any given time. However, you can deploy unused funds to take advantage of other <a href="https://gainium.io/academy/trading-vs-investing#Extra_perks">yield-generating strategies</a>, such as airdrops, yield farming, stacking, and interest-bearing accounts.</p><p>It's essential, however, that you carefully assess the pros and cons of using any yield-generating strategies, as each has its own set of risks and rewards.</p><h2>Final thoughts</h2><p>One important psychological aspect of this strategy is that I no longer feel anxious about what the future price action may look like. Even if I am technically underwater on my investments, I know that as long as the price remains in the range of my bots the continuous profit generated will eventually make up for the losses.</p><p>The super-wide grid bot stack strategy is a very effective way to generate profit from crypto long term. And while it's relatively low risk, it's important to remember that no investment is without risk. Be sure to do your own research and never invest more than you can afford to lose.</p><p>I hope this article has been helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.</p>

In this article, I share a grid bot setup I have been using successfully for many months, the super wide-range grid stack. This setup is a hybrid investing-trading approach to crypto that has a relatively low risk and enjoys a decent ROI.

The super wide-range grid stack strategy

<p>DCA stands for Dollar Cost Averaging, a term that in the world of crypto bots, it can be used to denote two very different trading strategies. In this article we will review these strategies, their key differences, and how combining them can open a world of new possibilities.</p><h2>A little history on the DCA concept</h2><p>First of all, let's examine the term DCA and understand why there are two different strategies with the same name.</p><p>The term "Dollar Cost Average" or DCA was first coined by Benjamin Graham in his 1945 book <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Intelligent_Investor">The intelligent investor</a>. Graham puts forward DCA as an investment strategy whereby you would buy the same dollar amount of an asset at fixed time intervals (every week, month, or quarter), independently of its price. This way, you would buy more shares of the asset when the prices are down and fewer shares when the price is up, thus averaging your overall cost of the asset and minimizing the risk of volatility. This strategy quickly became popular for 3 good reasons: it sets the habit of continuously investing, it avoids mistiming the market, and it removes emotion from the buying decision.</p><p>Fast forward a few generations, and crypto and automatic trading bots became very popular. Crypto is a risky asset and consequently attracts risk-prone traders and investors. In the never-ending quest of increasing profits and taking more risk, someone figured out that instead of using a stop loss to cut your risk when trading, you could use the <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/martingalesystem.asp">Martingale strategy</a>, buying more of the asset if the price moves against your take profit. This strategy helps obtain a better average entry price and therefore increases your chance to achieve the take profit level, but it also increases your position size as the market moves against you which could result in heavy losses. Because of this price averaging capability and riding on the already familiar "DCA" term, these bots were also named DCA bots and became quite popular.</p><p>To clarify which strategy we are referring to going forward, we will name Time-DCA the former and Price-DCA the latter.</p><h2>The Double-DCA Strategy</h2><p>Time-DCA is used as a risk-minimizing strategy for investing, while Price-DCA is used as a risk-increasing strategy for trading. While they could not have been any more different from each other, something magical happens when you combine the two.</p><p>The Double-DCA strategy is the combination of these two strategies into one, reaping the best of both worlds. In this strategy, you would Time-DCA by opening a new deal for the same dollar amount periodically (every week, month, or quarter) coupled with a Price-DCA that would allow each deal to buy more (up to a predefined amount) if the price falls. This way you would minimize the risk of volatility by investing regularly and further average down your position if the price falls.</p><h3>Setting the Double-DCA strategy in Gainium</h3><p>We've made it really easy for you to set up this strategy in Gainium. Simply head to the trading bots page and create a new bot. On the deal start condition, select time-based. After that, input how often you would like to open new trades and configure the Price-DCA as you would for any other bot.</p><p><img src="https://back.gainium.io/uploads/Double_DCA_1_707cfdabcb.webp" alt="Double DCA 1.webp"></p><h2>Final thoughts</h2><p>The Double-DCA strategy is a great way to invest in crypto and maximize your chances of averaging down the cost of your assets. The key is to find the perfect balance between the two DCA strategies. If you set the Price-DCA too low, you might not be able to buy enough when the price dips and miss out on the profits. On the other hand, if you set it too high, you might end up buying too quickly and miss better prices later on.</p><p>As with any strategy, the Double-DCA has its own risks and limitations that need to be taken into account. Make sure to use it as part of a good <a href="https://gainium.io/academy/crypto-portfolio-management">portfolio management strategy</a> to profit from crypto in the long term.</p>

Learn how to combine Time-DCA and Price-DCA to maximize your profit from investing in crypto  over the long term.

The Double-DCA Strategy

Market Structure Strategies

<h2>Introduction to ICT Trading</h2><p>The Inner Circle Trader (ICT) methodology is a trading philosophy that has gained significant traction within the trading community, particularly among those who follow The Strat. This approach is distinctive because it relies heavily on price action and typically eschews trend-following or momentum indicators.</p><p>At its core, ICT trading is about understanding and capitalizing on the natural movements and intentions behind price action in the markets. It's a method that seeks to decipher the 'why' behind price movements, aiming to align traders with the probable market direction dictated by larger, more informed players often referred to as 'smart money.'</p><p>ICT is not just a set of rules or indicators; it's a mindset that requires a deep understanding of market dynamics. It's about recognizing the footprints of institutional activities and using that knowledge to make educated trading decisions. The methodology is built on several key concepts that provide a comprehensive view of the market's behavior.</p><p>One of the reasons ICT is so appealing is its focus on simplicity and effectiveness. By concentrating on price action, traders can strip away the noise often associated with overladen charts and conflicting indicators. This allows for a more transparent market view, enabling traders to react more swiftly and confidently to the unfolding price narrative.</p><h2>2. Key Concepts of ICT Trading</h2><p>Several core concepts underpin the ICT methodology. These concepts serve as the foundation for identifying market opportunities and executing trades with a higher probability of success.</p><h3>2.1. Liquidity</h3><p>Liquidity in the ICT context refers to the areas on the chart with a concentration of stop orders from other traders. These are typically located at the extremes of price ranges, where traders are likely to be 'proven wrong' and thus exit their positions. Smart money players often target these liquidity pools to fill large orders, knowing that the accumulation of stops can provide the necessary volume to execute their trades.</p><h3>2.2. Displacement</h3><p>Displacement is characterized by a strong and swift price movement, indicating significant buying or selling pressure. It is often represented by a series of candles moving aggressively in one direction with large bodies and small wicks, signifying a consensus among market participants. Displacements are usually observed after liquidity levels are breached and can lead to the creation of Fair Value Gaps and Market Structure Shifts.</p><h3>2.3. Market Structure Shift</h3><p>A Market Structure Shift occurs when there is a clear break in the prevailing trend pattern. In an uptrend, this would be identified by a lower low, while in a downtrend, it would be a higher high. These shifts are significant because they can signal a potential change in the market's direction, providing traders with new levels to base their trades upon.</p><h3>2.4. Inducement</h3><p>Inducement refers to the counter-trend moves that occur within a larger trend. These moves are often seen as the market's way of 'hunting' for liquidity by targeting areas where traders might have placed stop orders. Once these stops are hit, the market often resumes its previous direction, accumulating or distributing positions as needed.</p><h3>2.5. Fair Value Gap</h3><p>A Fair Value Gap is created in the wake of a price reaching a liquidity level and then reversing sharply. It is identified on a chart by a sequence of three candles where the middle candle has a large body, and its range does not overlap with the wicks of the candles on either side. These gaps are important because they can act as magnets for future price action, drawing prices back to fill the gap.</p><h3>2.6. Optimal Trade Entry (OTE)</h3><p>The Optimal Trade Entry is considered the most favorable point to enter a trade. This is often found using Fibonacci retracement levels, particularly between 61.8% and 78.6%. After a Market Structure Shift, the retracement that follows usually provides an opportunity to enter a trade in the direction of the new trend.</p><h3>2.7. Balanced Price Range</h3><p>A Balanced Price Range occurs after a strong price move in one direction is immediately followed by an equally strong move in the opposite direction. This leaves behind a structure that resembles a double Fair Value Gap. These ranges can act as magnets for price and sometimes signal the start of a Market Structure Shift, with prices often retesting these areas before continuing their move.</p><h2>3. Applying ICT concepts in TradingView</h2><p>TradingView offers a plethora of indicators that can be used to apply the Inner Circle Trader (ICT) concepts to your trading strategy. Here's how to utilize some indicators to identify and capitalize on market opportunities.</p><h3>3.1. Liquidity Indicators</h3><p>Liquidity indicators on TradingView help traders spot potential price levels where large liquidation events may occur, which are crucial for understanding where the market might head next.</p><ul><li><strong>Liquidation Levels [LuxAlgo]</strong>: This indicator is designed to detect potential support &amp; resistance levels, identify stop-loss levels, and gauge market sentiment and potential areas of price volatility.</li><li><strong>Liquidity Hunter [ChartPrime]</strong>: It helps traders identify areas where reversals may occur by analyzing candle formations and structures, mainly focusing on wick-to-body ratios.</li><li><strong>Supply Demand Profiles [LuxAlgo]</strong>: This tool measures the traded volume at all price levels over a specified period, highlighting significant supply &amp; demand zones.</li><li><strong>Liquidity Pools [FX365_Thailand]</strong>: Displays liquidity based on swing highs and lows, indicating where significant liquidity rests and where price might head.</li></ul><h3>3.2. Fair Value Gap Indicator</h3><p>Fair Value Gap (FVG) indicators identify areas where the price might return to fill a gap left by a sharp price movement.</p><ul><li><strong>HTF Fair Value Gap [LuxAlgo]</strong>: Aims to display the exact time/price locations of fair value gaps within a higher user-selected chart timeframe, with changes in chart background colors indicating bullish or bearish FVGs.</li></ul><h3>3.3. Market Structure Indicators</h3><p>These indicators help identify shifts in market structure, which can signal changes in the market's direction.</p><ul><li><strong>ICT Institutional Order Flow (fadi)</strong>: Provides a holistic view to analyze order flow and market structure based on ICT principles, breaking down pivot points into categories that reflect short-term highs/lows.</li></ul><h3>3.4. Inducement/Stop Hunt Indicator</h3><p>Inducement or Stop Hunt indicators are designed to identify counter-trend moves that target stop-loss areas.</p><ul><li><strong>Inducement/Stop Hunt TFO</strong>: This script is specifically designed to highlight potential inducement or stop hunt areas where the market might target stop-loss orders for liquidity.</li></ul><p>By integrating these indicators into your TradingView analysis, you can enhance your understanding of market dynamics and improve your trading decisions. Each indicator provides a unique perspective on the market, allowing you to apply ICT concepts effectively.</p><p>For a more detailed exploration of these indicators, you can visit the respective pages on TradingView:</p><ul><li><a href="https://tradingview.com/scripts/liquidity/">Liquidity Indicators</a></li><li><a href="https://tradingview.com/scripts/search/fair%20value%20gap/">Fair Value Gap Indicators</a></li><li><a href="https://tradingview.com/scripts/search/market%20structure/">Market Structure Indicators</a></li><li><a href="https://www.tradingview.com/script/pxCIz9Fh-Inducement-Stop-Hunt-TFO/">Inducement/Stop Hunt Indicator</a></li></ul><p>These tools can be handy for users of platforms like Gainium, who can leverage these indicators to apply sophisticated trading strategies in the cryptocurrency markets.</p>

Explore the ICT trading strategy in cryptocurrency with our in-depth article. Learn critical concepts like liquidity, market structure, and optimal trade entry and how to apply them using TradingView indicators. Plus, discover how to automate these strategies with Gainium for smarter trading decisions.

Crypto Trading Strategies

The super wide-range grid stack strategy

The Double-DCA Strategy

Applying ICT Trading in Crypto