OctoBot cloud frequently asked questions (FAQ)
How can I test strategies ?
On OctoBot cloud, we try to keep everything as simple as possible and this includes testing strategies. Additionnaly to public historical performances, every strategy can be tested risk free using paper trading.
This means that you can run any trading strategy at anytime using virtual funds before running a strategy on your real exchange account. Paper trading allows you to test the strategies you are interested in as much as you want for free free.
Learn more about paper trading
How are strategies profits computed ?
Each strategy on OctoBot cloud is built, run and tested using OctoBot. This means that each strategy past performance is evaluated on a regular basis using historical data and OctoBot's backtesting.
At OctoBot we believe in transparency. This means that sometimes strategies can turn unprofitable as profits depends on so many different factors including market conditions. If a strategy is not making profits during a given period, you will see it before using it.
Where are your funds when using OctoBot ?
You funds always remain on the exchange, on your own exchange account.
OctoBot is a software allowing you to apply a trading strategy on your own exchange account. This means that OctoBot is just sending trading orders to your exchange account to buy and sell assets according to your selected strategy. OctoBot never receives or sends funds form its users.
How much can you loose ?
This depends on the strategy you selected. In all cases, you can never loose more than your investment.
When using OctoBot, the same rules as on exchanges apply, this means that you can end up loosing funds, for example if the following events happen:
- Selling an asset at a lower price than you bought it
- Trading fees taken by the exchange when executing orders
- Issues with the invested asset or exchange itself (ex: if the asset valuation collapses)
You can test any strategy risk free, therefore without any chance to loose funds using paper trading.
Is OctoBot cloud secure ?
Yes, security is among our top priorities. When using OctoBot cloud, the following security measures apply:
- Your exchange API keys are stored on a secure encrypted vault. This means that even in the unlikely event that exchange API keys would leak from OctoBot servers, they would not be readable.
- OctoBot API keys with withdrawal rights can't be used. OctoBot cloud refuses to store exchange API keys with withdrawal permissions (when technically possible). This means that your funds technically can't be taken out of your exchange account by OctoBot or the company behind it.
- OctoBot relies on automated strategies instead of human actions. This means that each strategy is reliable and predictible. You don't need to trust a human to properly execute the strategy.
Can I use the same exchange account on 2 OctoBots ?
Trading strategies can trade the same assets and therefore be incompatible with each other. In order to propose the best investment conditions, only one OctoBot can be used per exchange account on OctoBot cloud.
You can use subaccounts to execute multiple strategies on the same exchange account or simply use multiple exchanges.
Why are there minimal funds to use trading strategies ?
There are 2 reasons for minimal funds in trading strategies:
- Exchange trading rules: trading strategies ultimately send orders to exchange. Those exchanges have trading rules that are enforcing a minimal size for each order. On Binance, this amount is usually $5 or $10 (opens in a new tab). Strategies usually trade with a portion of your portfolio for each order, this means this part need to be large enough to comply with trading rules. This is especially true for Grid-based trading strategies where your funds are split into a large amount of smaller orders.
- The investor plan: in order to keep the Investor Plan of OctoBot cloud completely free, we are are partnering up with exchanges to bring them trading volume. This means that we have to require a minimum amount in each portfolio to pay our bills. We try to keep this minimum as low as possible but have to set a threshold.
How can I connect my exchange account to OctoBot ?
To help you connect your exchange account to OctoBot, we created detailed step by step guides:
- Binance connection guide
- Kucoin guide in progress
- OKX guide in progress
Why can't I use my account on the free Investor plan ?
The Investor plan on OctoBot cloud relies on exchange partnerships to pay for its running costs when an OctoBot is running. This means that OctoBot cloud requires users to use partner exchange accounts to use the free Investor plan.
2 situations can nevertheless prevent a partner exchange account from being compatible:
- Having an account that has been created too long ago. Example: for the partnership to operate, Binance requires users to use accounts that have been created after June 2021.
You can fix this by creating a Binance subaccount and connecting it to your OctoBot.
- Having an already-referred exchange account. Binance refuses to operate the partenership with user accounts who have been referred by another account than OctoBot's. Please use an unreferred account, or use this referral link (opens in a new tab) to create your account.
Unfortunatelly, if your account is already referred and you don't have the possibility to create another account, there is no fix. Please consider using another exchange to enjoy the free Investor plan.