🤖 Building a Profitable Crypto Trading Bot: 3-Week Journey

After 3 weeks of development hell and countless iterations, I finally got my automated trading bot working on Binance Futures Testnet. Here's what I learned:

The Setup 🛠️

Platform: Binance Futures (Testnet for safety)

Leverage: 2x (conservative approach)

Strategies: 4 different algorithms (Q1-Q4) based on EMA, RSI, Bollinger Bands

Position Management: Max 4 positions, swing trading style

The Biggest Challenges 😅

1. Fee Optimization

Initially tried scalping (0.5-1% TP) but fees (0.07% per trade) completely destroyed profits. Switched to swing trading with 2.5-4.5% TP targets - MUCH better results.

2. Stop Loss Bug

Spent 4 DAYS debugging why SL notifications weren't working. Turns out Binance triggers SL orders directly on their end, so the bot needs to poll order history to detect fills. Built a proper order tracking system.

3. Trailing Stop Implementation

First attempt used closePosition=True but Binance only allows ONE such order (either SL OR TP, not both). Rewrote to use quantity-based orders - now both work simultaneously!

Current Performance 📊

Win Rate: Testing phase

Risk Management: Breakeven protection at +1.5%, trailing stop at +2%

Auto-closes positions at 2.5% TP or moves SL to entry after +1.5%

Tech Stack 💻

Python + python-binance library

Telegram bot for notifications

Order registry for tracking trades

Multiple strategy filters (trend, balanced, statistical)

Key Lessons Learned 🎓

Fees matter MORE than you think - Always calculate net profit after fees

Testnet first - Lost zero real money during development

Proper logging is essential - Can't fix what you can't see

Risk management > Strategy - Trailing stops and breakeven protection saved me multiple times

Binance API quirks - Read the docs 3 times, especially for futures orders

Next Steps 🚀

Live testing with small capital

Backtest with historical data

Add more sophisticated entry filters

Implement correlation checks between positions

Anyone else building trading bots? What's been your biggest challenge?

Follow for updates 😃

#CryptoTrading #TradingBot #BinanceFutures #AlgoTrading #CryptoDev