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Post-DCA stop-loss

How and when the bot exits a pair to cut losses.

What the stop-loss does

After the bot has placed all configured DCA levels and the price continues falling well below the deepest DCA, an optional stop-loss closes the position to cap further damage.

When does the stop-loss fire?

Only AFTER all configured DCA levels have placed and filled. The bot waits for the full DCA ladder to play out before considering a stop-loss — premature stops would convert paper losses into realized losses on every pullback.

The trigger condition is: price falls below deepest_DCA_price × (1 − stop_loss_pct). Stop-loss pct is per-pair configurable.

What happens when it fires?

  1. Bot cancels any pending DCA buys.
  2. Bot places a market sell of the full position.
  3. Cycle closes at a realized loss.
  4. Bot resets for the pair — next entry condition starts fresh.

Disabling the stop-loss

You can disable per-pair stop-loss in the pair config. If you do, the position can keep falling indefinitely — be sure you can emotionally and financially weather an "indefinite hold" before disabling.

Stop-loss vs hold-and-wait

The trade-off is:

  • Stop-loss ON: caps the worst case at the stop-loss level. Realizes losses when triggered. Bad for pairs that recover after deep drops.
  • Stop-loss OFF: position sits until the market eventually recovers + reaches your sell target. Good for high-conviction long-term holdings. Bad if the pair never recovers.

Most users should leave stop-loss ON. Disable only after carefully considering the worst case for the pair you're trading.

What if I'm half-way through DCAs and want to exit?

Stop the bot (graceful), sign in to Kraken directly, and close the position there. See Starting and stopping your bot.