Are Trading Bots Worth It? Are They Even Legal? (Insights) (2024)

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Last Updated on 10 February, 2024 by Rejaul Karim

Everbody who spends more than a few minutes researching various trading topics online will inevitably stumble upon trading bots. Often they’re marketed as the solution to your issues related to making money in the markets. But are trading bots worth it?

Trading bots are definitely worth it if the logic they employ to profit in the markets is sound and has been tested thoroughly. Unfortunately, this is seldom the case, and many of the trading bots you’ll find online will do nothing but produce losses when traded live.

In short, there is nothing magical about trading bots in themselves, since they’re merely automated trading strategies that have buying and selling conditions built into them. In other words, their ability to make money depends on if the strategy those conditions make up is profitable or not.

With that said, trading bots definitely is the way to go about trading if you want to become a really serious trader. Here are some of the benefits of using trading bots over manual trading:

  1. They’re More Exact:When placing orders manually, you’re always at the whim of your own capability to remain focused and concentrated. And since humans, in general, are far from infallible, there will be occasions when you place the wrong orders, or simply forget about some important market level. With a trading bot, you won’t have these kinds of issues, even though they will require some monitoring from your side.
  2. They’re Rules-Based:Traders with experience know that it’s essential to create rules-based trading strategies that can be evaluated and tested on historical data, in order to stand a chance. This is exactly what you do when employing trading bots!
  3. It takes much less time:Staring into a screen all day isn’t fun at all! Thankfully, a trading bot will let you focus on other things while your trading strategy remains active and ready to step in to and out of the market.
  4. You can have many trading bots running at the same time:This really is a key benefit that makes trading bots stand out as one of the better solutions you could go for. By trading not only one strategy and market, but several, you reduce your risk level, get a smoother equity curve, and could potentially make more money!

As you see, there are many benefits in going with a trading bot, as long as you can ensure that the underlying trading strategy is robust and has a chance of working going forward!

So how do you do that?

How to Ensure That a Trading Bot is Profitable

To make sure that the rules you employ work well, you, first of all, need to learn how to use backtesting.

Backtesting is when you simulate the performance of a set of rules on historical data, to see how they have fared. That way you quickly get a sense of whether the strategy your considering actually is worth your time, or should be abandoned.

Here is what a backtest result may look like.

Are Trading Bots Worth It? Are They Even Legal? (Insights) (1)

Now, if it all looks great, that’s at least a good sign that you’re up to something that might prove to be a good trading robot. However, it’s not enough to make you want to trade the strategy right away.

The reason why you don’t want to trade a strategy right away is curve fitting, which means that you accidentally have fit your rules and conditions to past market data rather than market behavior. The consequence becomes that your strategy is very likely to fail in live trading, since there wasn’t any true market behavior to support the model.

Although it might not seem like a too serious of a problem, you really shouldn’t belittle the role that curve fitting has on your trading models. Most times you simply don’t notice, and would risk losing a lot of money if you were to take those backtested strategies to live trading right away.

One of the best ways to detect strategies or trading bots that are curve fit is to paper trade the strategy a while, and see how it performs. If all goes well you may start to slowly trade the strategy, and then step up your position size as everything develops in the right direction.

Are Trading Bots Legal?

Are Trading Bots Worth It? Are They Even Legal? (Insights) (2)

Yes, it’s legal to use trading bots. Although some people do have their objections to how automated trading impacts the markets, there are no rules or laws in place that keep retail traders from using trading bots.

How Scammers Sell Trading Bots With Seemingly Great Performance

Let’s now return to those scammy trading vendors who have made a big business of selling trading bots that promise riches to the masses.

Many times, trading bots are marketed with perfect performance reports where the equity line looks like a line that’s drawn from the lower-left corner to the upper right corner.

Results like this suffer severely from curve fitting. This often means that the seller of the trading bot has imposed various filters and conditions to ensure that the historical performance gets as close to perfect as possible. In other words, the strategy defines random price patterns that are extremely unlikely to continue going forward.

Most new traders marvel at the sight of the perfect line, and don’t understand that it’s all made up.

Related reading: Is Trading Safe?

How to get started With Trading Bots

If you’re looking to start using trading bots that trade for you, we highly recommend that you learn how to build your own strategy. Although there are some reliable trading strategy providers, you want to not rely on others as long as it’s possible.

Here at The Robust Trader we have put together a complete guide to algorithmic trading where we cover various aspects of automated trading. We also recommend that you check out our massive article on how to build a trading strategy, where we talk more about the process of validating trading strategies.

Ending Words

Trading bots are marketed heavily by fake trading vendors, and could be said to have gained an unfair reputation.Although some people completely dismiss the idea that trading bots can be profitable, the truth is that a trading bot is as good as the strategy it defines.

Are Trading Bots Worth It? Are They Even Legal? (Insights) (2024)

FAQs

Are trading bots actually profitable? ›

Crypto trading bots are profitable. However, it's not as simple as it sounds. You need a deeper understanding of how these tools work. You also need to be equipped with the knowledge to decide whether they are the missing piece in your crypto trading puzzle.

Are trading bots legal? ›

Using a trading bot is perfectly legal. At this time, there are no rules or regulations that prohibit retail traders from using trading bots, even though there are some concerns about the effects of automated trading on the markets.

Can you make a living off trading bots? ›

While trading bots can enhance efficiency and streamline trading operations, they are not a guaranteed path to success and require diligent monitoring, optimization, and risk management to achieve sustainable profitability in the dynamic and competitive landscape of financial markets.

Can you trust trading bots? ›

Risk Management: Trusting AI with your investment requires an understanding of the risk management strategies employed by these bots. Good AI trading platforms incorporate risk management features to minimize losses, but the effectiveness of these strategies can vary widely.

Has anyone made a successful trading bot? ›

It depends on the bot! Some lower-risk crypto trading bots boast a 99% success rate, while others execute higher-risk strategies and have a lower success rate. The main thing most investors need to consider is whether the bot they're looking at can execute their specific investment strategy successfully.

Do professional traders use bots? ›

In conclusion, bot trading is prevalent among professional traders, offering numerous benefits such as efficiency, speed, and risk management. Professional traders leverage automated systems to enhance market analysis, diversify trading strategies, and execute trades with precision.

Can you lose on a trading bot? ›

Traders can lose money in bot trading due to technical failures, market risks, programming errors, over-optimization, lack of adaptability, and human oversight. However, with proper risk management, oversight, and testing, traders can mitigate these risks and improve their chances of success in automated trading.

Do trading bots fail? ›

Conclusion. In conclusion, while trading bots offer numerous benefits such as efficiency, speed, and automation, they are not infallible and can fail under certain circumstances.

What is the truth about AI trading? ›

Fraudsters are exploiting public interest in artificial intelligence (AI) to tout automated trading algorithms, trade signal strategies, and crypto-asset trading schemes that promise unreasonably high or guaranteed returns. Don't believe the scammers. AI technology can't predict the future or sudden market changes.

What is the best trading bot? ›

Breaking Down The Best Crypto Trading Bots:
  • Phemex. ...
  • Shrimpy. ...
  • Coinigy. ...
  • 3Commas. ...
  • CryptoHopper. ...
  • TradeSanta. ...
  • Kryll‍ When it comes to building your own trading strategies, Kryll.io leads the market with their outstanding UI. ...
  • Gunbot. Gunbot is a highly customizable trading bot for advanced traders.

How much of trading is done by bots? ›

Over 70% of all trades are now executed by algorithmic trading bots. There are thousands of these bots out there, but only a select few with a winning strategy end up dominating the markets. A bot's strategy is everything - it determines which trades it will place and when.

Are day trading bots worth it? ›

Ask yourself if you should use an automated trading system. There are definitely promises of making money, but it can take longer than you may think. Will you be better off to trade manually? After all, these trading systems can be complex and if you don't have the experience, you may lose out.

Do trading robots really work? ›

There is no guarantee that any forex trading robot will work, and there are many factors that can affect the performance of a robot. However, there are some robots that have been shown to be profitable over the long term.

How effective are stock trading bots? ›

Rules-based and artificial intelligence stock trading bots can streamline trading, reduce errors, and eliminate emotion from decision-making. However, your decisions, the parameters you set, and your chosen platform will determine your success.

How much can you earn with a trading bot? ›

📈 With the right bot and strategy, you can easily make $100 or more each day. 👀 Follow along as I share my personal experience and tips for success. 🤑 Don't miss out on this opportunity to make money while you sleep! 🚀 Ready to join the crypto trading revolution and start earning big?

Do trading robots make money? ›

It is possible that bots can make money for a restricted time period, but they could start losing after a while - and the money earned by the 'best Forex bot' with one position may disappear before you can claim it. In addition, the vast majority of bots are scalpers.

Can you lose money with trading bots? ›

Traders can lose money in bot trading due to technical failures, market risks, programming errors, over-optimization, lack of adaptability, and human oversight. However, with proper risk management, oversight, and testing, traders can mitigate these risks and improve their chances of success in automated trading.

Can a trading bot make you a millionaire? ›

Misconception: Some believe that using trading bots guarantees instant wealth. Reality: Success requires time, strategy, and understanding market dynamics.

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