Help with Stop Loss Strategy

[Showlow]

Hi!
I am a new holder of some cryptocurrencies (80% in Bitcoin) although I have been following it for much longer. A couple of months ago I pulled the trigger and opened a position over some time with an average price of $950. I am in for the long term (many years) but still would like to protect a large portion of the gains I have made so far and have started thinking about putting in a stop loss but realized that it is not that easy since the market is so volatile... The tests I made with smaller amounts didn't work out so well - for instance, I used a trailing stop loss (market) and what happened was that my position sold and the price shot right back up again (duh...) and I ended up having to buy back at a higher price... haha

Since I don't want to trade much and constantly keep an eye on my positions I still would like to have some kind of mechanism in place so I don't loose much of the gains if the price tanks completely. The idea, however, is still to be long and I would buy back in and hopefully get some more coins...

So,
Is a trailing stop loss at market a good idea for me? What percentage would be good? I don't want it too low since I don't want the stop loss to execute all the time, I'm fine riding the "normal" volatility (whatever that is...).

One thing I have considered is to divide  my Bitcoin position in thirds and put three different trailing stop losses; perhaps at 10%, 15% and 20% - is that smart?

Any help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[babymoney]

Having a trailing stop loss is definitely a smart move. The percentage you set is just personal preference or determined by your strategy. There is no percentage that is best  that said, you should take into account the volatility of bitcoin prices as you don't want to set a stop loss that is too tight. If it's too loose, you may suffer more losses than needed.

[Kevin77]

Having a trailing stop loss is definitely a smart move. The percentage you set is just personal preference or determined by your strategy. There is no percentage that is best  that said, you should take into account the volatility of bitcoin prices as you don't want to set a stop loss that is too tight. If it's too loose, you may suffer more losses than needed.

AFAIK there cannot be any definite determination to set stop loss levels. A stop loss should be applied at trend changing levels. A trend change point is predictable only through technical analysis hence a stop loss also should be generated through technical analysis.

But I am not trading bitcoins with stop loss. In other words, I never accept my losses in bitcoin trading. I just leave my positions opened and when market bounce back, I do book profits. This is the reason I hate margin trading.

[deddod]

To reduce losses, I think trading some altcoin in bittrex is very profitable when trading do not all go in, but by partial or 3 buy system. Example: you have balance 0.1 BTC and order xrp at rate 10K 0.025, rate 8K 0.025, and 0.05 at rate 5K. I think that's the best way to reduce losses.

[Renji Abarai]

In my situation say for example I have already gained or profit, I sold half of my coins just to recover my capital, then I hold the other half for possible increased  or for a much better profit. If it continues to go down, I sold it again and wait or make a BUY Order  and wait it.

[Dudeperfect]

I think it is a subjective term and it should be applied as per the case. If the movement of the price is moving very sharply then trailing stop loss might not help because it might trigger the stop loss order within a minute or two. However, if the price is changing with the smooth interval then you can take the benefit of the trailing stop loss in the percentage anything like 5% to 20% depending on your risk bearing capacity. Trailing stop loss doesn't work in sharply moving charts in my opinion.

[zulkarnaen]

Having a trailing stop loss is definitely a smart move. The percentage you set is just personal preference or determined by your strategy. There is no percentage that is best  that said, you should take into account the volatility of bitcoin prices as you don't want to set a stop loss that is too tight. If it's too loose, you may suffer more losses than needed.

AFAIK there cannot be any definite determination to set stop loss levels. A stop loss should be applied at trend changing levels. A trend change point is predictable only through technical analysis hence a stop loss also should be generated through technical analysis.

But I am not trading bitcoins with stop loss. In other words, I never accept my losses in bitcoin trading. I just leave my positions opened and when market bounce back, I do book profits. This is the reason I hate margin trading.

I agree with you, I think if altcoin trading analysis we have a strong belief in price movements in market, may no longer require stop loss, because the possibility of our trade will definitely touch top point in accordance with our analysis

[reflector]

I think it is a subjective term and it should be applied as per the case. If the movement of the price is moving very sharply then trailing stop loss might not help because it might trigger the stop loss order within a minute or two. However, if the price is changing with the smooth interval then you can take the benefit of the trailing stop loss in the percentage anything like 5% to 20% depending on your risk bearing capacity. Trailing stop loss doesn't work in sharply moving charts in my opinion.

Yeah we need to follow up the price index properly to avoid the loss in the trading. Sometime price will change frequently, if we are not aware of the value that time. We may lock by the traders someone who coming to trade with you. However,
you can wait to complete the trade till trade automatically disputed but that is also good for all the time. Checkout the price movement without wasting a minute is my opinion.

[rolfmetzger]

So what percentage do you all use for stop loss?  Any good advice?  I can't figure out the best setting for bittrex and Polo altcoins.

[deadsilent]

Stop-loss function is important especially this season. All you can see in the market are pump and dump coin moving up and down. So it iw important to cover your trades with stop-loss to avoid huge loss of capital if ever your trade dump fast. The fluctuations of cryptocurrencies are different than stocks. The movement of cryptocurrencies in the market is very fast. Sometimes our analysis can be fail. The coin will go up and then it goes down really quick. This is also important especially who don't have time to spend time with their trades. The price will trigger the stop loss. So it is a big help for traders