Copy traders: Introduction to proportional copy trading

Published on 11 Sept 2024Updated on 24 Sept 20244 min read

1. What is proportional copy trading

Proportional copy trading is a new method of setting your amount per order when copying a trader. Copy traders start by setting a multiplier as their amount per order. Every time a lead trader opens a position, the multiplier will be applied to the lead trader's order value to calculate the copy trader's order amount. For example, if a copy trader sets a multiple of 0.1x and the lead trader opens a position worth 10,000 USDT, the copy trader's amount per order will be 10,000 USDT × 0.1 = 1,000 USDT. Proportional trading therefore allows copy traders to more closely follow a lead trader's trading strategy and achieve a similar PnL.

2. How to carry out proportional copy trades

Step 1: Go to "Discover > Copy trading" (You need to be logged in to access the feature)

Step 2: Find a trader that you're interested in copying under "Market board" and select "Copy now"

Step 3: Select "Proportional amount" and set up your copy trade

  • You can view the order amount type above the top-right corner of the "Amount per order" field. If it's set to "Fixed amount", you can tap it to select "Proportional amount".

  • You can consult the recommended multiplier and average open position value when setting your multiplier.

Copy trade settings


Proportional amount per order
Set a multiplier between 0.01 and 10 that will be applied to the lead trader's order value to calculate your amount for each order.


Example: If a copy trader sets a multiple of 0.1x and the lead trader opens a position worth 10,000 USDT, the copy trader's amount per order will be 10,000 USDT × 0.1 = 1,000 USDT.  

Maximum total amount
When your total margin for all orders under a copy trader reaches this amount, you'll stop copying new trades until some of your existing positions close. When your margin goes below this amount, you'll start copying trades again.

You can set this amount between 20 and 30,000 USDT.

Margin mode
This is the same as your margin mode on the manual contract trading page. Any changes you make in copy trading will be synced to your manual trade settings.

Leverage
The leverage for each contract is the same as on the manual contract trading page. Any changes you make in copy trading will be synced to your manual trade settings.

Take profit and stop loss


Take profit per order



The maximum take profit you can set is 150%


Your position will automatically close if an order's profits reach this amount.



Stop loss per order



The maximum stop loss you can set is 75%


Your position will automatically close if an order's losses reach this amount.

Stop loss for trader
The total stop loss for all trades under a lead trader. If total losses exceed this amount, you'll automatically stop copying the lead trader. You can choose for your remaining open positions to either:



Close immediately at market price


Close when the trader closes


Close manually   

Copying contracts
The contracts you want to create copy trades with. All contracts supported by the lead trader are selected by default. You can edit these according to your preferences.

Step 4: Select "Copy now", double check the copy trade details and select "Confirm".

3. Recommended multiplier

Because your copy trade order amount is proportional to that of the lead trader, if your multiplier is too high, your order may be at risk of early liquidation due to high leverage. Our system therefore provides a recommended multiplier to help you minimize risk. We highly recommend staying within the recommended multiplier range. The calculation for the recommended multiplier is as follows:

  • Recommended multiplier = Modifier × min{Maximum total copy amount, Copy trader USDT equity} / Lead trader USDT equity

  • Modifier for minimum recommended multiplier = 0.5 - Modifier for maximum recommended multiplier = 1

For example, if your maximum total copy amount is 30,000 USDT, your trading account equity is 10,000 USDT, and the lead trader's account equity is 20,000 USDT, the calculation for the recommended multiplier will be Modifier × min{30,000, 10,000} / 20,000. Since the Copy trader USDT equity of 10,000 is less than the Maximum total copy amount of 30,000 the final equations will be:

  • Maximum recommended multiplier: 1 × 10,000 / 20,000 = 0.5 - Minimum recommended multiplier: 0.5 × 10,000 / 20,000 = 0.25 In addition to the recommended multiplier, you can also consider the lead trader's average open position value to help you decide a suitable multiplier.