Crypto grid trading bot

How does a grid bot work?

The trader chooses a lower bound, upper bound, number of grids and capital. The bot places buys below the current price and sells above it. After a buy fills, it places a corresponding sell one grid higher. Repeated oscillation completes small cycles.

Setting	What it controls	Failure if poorly chosen
Lower and upper price	Operating range	Bot stops cycling outside it
Number of grids	Spacing and order count	Profit per grid can fall below costs
Arithmetic or geometric	Fixed dollars or fixed percentage	Uneven suitability across a wide range
Capital	Order size and coverage	Orders fall below minimum or inventory is concentrated

Arithmetic versus geometric grids

An arithmetic grid uses equal dollar gaps. Between $80 and $120 with eight intervals, each gap is $5. A geometric grid uses equal percentage gaps, which is usually more consistent across a wide crypto range.

The relevant number is net profit per completed grid. If a round trip earns 0.40% gross and pays 0.10% on each fill, only about 0.20% remains before spread and slippage.

What happens when price leaves the range?

Below the lower bound, a spot grid has progressively bought the asset and may hold substantial losing inventory. Above the upper bound, it may have sold most inventory and stop participating in the rally. “Grid profit” can remain positive while total P&L is negative because the open position is marked separately.

Always read total P&L, not only realised grid profit.

Some bots stop, some wait and some allow trailing or automatic range adjustment. Moving the range can realise a loss or rebuild orders at worse prices, so it is a new decision rather than free maintenance.

How should grid spacing be selected?

Estimate round-trip maker/taker fees, average spread and likely slippage. Add a safety margin. The grid percentage must exceed that cost floor. Narrow spacing increases the number of fills but can convert market noise into fee turnover.

Use liquid pairs and inspect our fee comparison before modelling. A range should come from observed support, resistance and volatility, not from the exchange’s default alone.

Spot grid versus futures grid

A spot grid accumulates and sells owned inventory. A futures grid can run long, short or neutral with leverage, but adds funding and liquidation. A sudden one-way move can liquidate the contract before price ever returns through the grid.

Beginners should understand a spot grid first. If leverage is used, read the liquidation guide and model the worst inventory concentration, not the average state.

Grid bot setup checklist

Define why the market is expected to range, the invalidation boundary, net profit per grid, maximum inventory, stop behaviour and time horizon. Run a small amount first and export completed fills. If the strategy cannot be reconstructed from trade history, its displayed performance cannot be trusted.