Trading bots
A grid bot can report profits from completed trades while the remaining position loses value. Increasing the next purchase can bring the average entry price closer to the market while increasing the amount exposed to a further adverse move. Counting profitable cycles therefore gives an incomplete view of the account.
This guide separates two rules: where orders are placed and how their size changes. Original hypothetical examples show how to reconstruct the position and its total result, including open losses. They describe general mechanisms rather than the strategy of any particular New Hope product.
Grid placement and martingale sizing answer different questions
A grid specifies price levels or intervals for orders. In trading, martingale commonly describes increasing size after an adverse outcome or movement; the exact rule depends on the system. A grid can use constant order sizes. Increasing size does not necessarily require evenly spaced price levels.
Even the word “multiplier” needs a definition. The Bybit Futures Martingale Bot documentation applies its multiplier to the previous order’s cost, so asset quantity need not increase in the same proportion. That is a feature of this implementation, not a rule for every bot.
Before comparing systems, record three things separately: what creates the next order, what determines its size, and how much will remain open after execution. A strategy label cannot establish these details.
Worked example: the same levels, different exposure
Assume purchases of a hypothetical asset at prices of 100, 90, 80 and 70 currency units. All four orders fill. There are no sales, fees, borrowing or other cash flows. These are arithmetic assumptions, not suggested trading settings.
One unit at each level: four units cost 340. The average entry is 85. At a current price of 70, the position is worth 280 and the unrealised result is −60.
Sizes of 1, 2, 4 and 8 units: fifteen units cost 1,160. The average entry is approximately 77.33. At 70, the position is worth 1,050 and the unrealised result is −110.
The second sequence moves the average entry closer to the market, but it also leaves a much larger position. If the price then falls from 70 to 60, the additional change in value is −40 for four units and −150 for fifteen. A lower average entry alone says little about the account’s ability to withstand the next move.
The sequence 1, 2, 4, 8 is chosen only to make the arithmetic clear. It does not describe Bybit or New Hope software, nor does it mean every martingale implementation doubles asset quantity.
Closed-cycle profit is not the total result
In a separate hypothetical report, completed trades earn +30 while open positions show −50. Before costs recorded separately, the combined result is −20. If fees of 4 and paid funding of 1 have not yet been included, the result after those charges is −25. Do not subtract charges a second time when the selected report field already includes them.
The distinction between Grid Profit and Total P&L is explained in the Bybit Futures Grid Bot FAQ: losses on an open position can outweigh profits from completed cycles. Check the particular venue’s valuation and closure rules.
Compare the account’s balance and equity when reviewing a chart. An upward closed-trade curve does not replace valuation of the open position. Funds deposited by the user must also be distinguished from trading earnings.
What happens outside the range?
A pause in new orders does not necessarily close an existing position. In Bybit’s documented futures-grid behaviour, positions remain open when the price leaves the range. For another implementation, establish what happens outside its range, after an insufficient-funds error, when an order is rejected and when the software stops.
Keep an unleveraged spot purchase separate from a margined position. The former in our example involves a change in asset value; the latter also involves collateral requirements and potential liquidation. Perpetual contracts may involve funding payments. The guide to funding costs and trading results explains how to keep those payments in the accounting.
Five checks beyond the profit chart
Reconstruct exposure. Sum executed purchases and sales. Keep pending orders separate because they have not yet become a position.
Examine an adverse price path. Include continued movement as well as a return into the range. Show position value and applicable collateral requirements at each step.
Reconcile cash flows. Separate deposits, withdrawals, closed results, open results and charges under the chosen report’s definitions.
Document shutdown behaviour. Establish whether orders are cancelled, what happens to the position and who monitors it after the bot stops.
Check execution. Compare intended levels with actual prices and quantities using the order, fill and cost audit method.
The useful outcome is an account record that explains what has already been earned or lost, what exposure remains and which events require action. Frequent profitable cycles cannot answer those questions by themselves, and they do not guarantee recovery from the next loss.
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