Binance Spot Copy Trading Guide (Copy Trader)

2024-05-15 11:50

Spot Copy Trading

What is spot copy trading?

Spot copy trading on Binance enables any user to copy the running portfolios of listed lead traders.

As a copy trader, your positions will automatically follow the lead traders’ positions in real-time, gaining insight to their strategies, market assessment, and decision-making, without having to initiate the activities yourself.

Managing account balance for spot copy trading

To ensure uninterrupted spot copy trading, the copy trader must enter the amount they wish to use for the portfolio they are copying, and funds will be transferred from their spot wallet to the spot copy trading wallet. This prevents the assets from being withdrawn, transferred out, or used for other trading operations during the copy trading process. It is not possible to withdraw assets directly from the spot copy trading wallet. Once the process ends, the copy trader can transfer the assets back to the spot wallet to withdraw. Users can also add or remove assets from the running portfolio and review relevant transfers on the platform’s history page.

How to start spot copy trading?

1. Log in to your Binance account and select [Trade] - [Copy Trading]. Select the [Spot] tab.

2. Under ‘Spot’ - ‘Portfolio List’, choose your preferred portfolio. Select [Copy] to start.

Setting up your spot copy trading preferences

Customize your copy trading parameters via [Spot Copy Setting]. Select the [Fixed Ratio] tab to set preferences for copy trading based on ‘Fixed Ratio’ mode, where your orders will be allocated proportionally to the lead traders’ orders. Select the [Fixed Amount] tab to set preferences for copy trading on ‘Fixed Amount’ mode, where orders will be purchased by set amount.

Cost Per OrderEach order will be opened/capped at this fixed amount
Copy AmountTotal amount to invest per lead trader, can be across multiple orders
Total Stop LossWhen this amount is reached, a stop-loss market order will trigger to sell all cryptocurrencies.
Transferring funds while the portfolio is running will affect the total stop loss amount
Personal Pairs PreferenceThe system will only execute on orders trading your selected currencies

Once you have set the parameters, you must accept the ‘Profit Sharing %’ and ‘User Service Agreement’ boxes to proceed. Press [Save] to apply settings.

How to calculate the buy and sell order size?

Trading via [Fixed Ratio] Mode
Using Fixed Ratio, your order cost will be proportional to the lead trader’s order cost. The calculations applied to the lead trader’s portfolio will apply to your order, even if your order entry price is different. Please note that slippage can affect your order price and the final order size might be lower than the lead trader’s.

Fixed Ratio Buy/Sell examples:

  • Buy order: A lead trader’s available balance is 1,000 USDT and they placed an order of 500 USDT (50% of the available balance). If the copy trader uses 500 USDT to copy the portfolio, the system will apply the same formula as the lead trader and allocate 250 USDT (50% of balance) to place the order. Please note that the final order size may be lower than 250 USDT due to slippage.
  • Sell order: A lead trader has a 1 BTCUSDT order and sells 20% of their order (0.2 BTC). If you copy the trade with a total investment of 0.6 BTC, the system will automatically sell 20% (0.12 BTC) of your order, applying the same proportional calculation as the lead trader.

Trading via [Fixed Amount] Mode
The system will place each order using the Cost Per Order amount you set. Please note, if your buy order amount doesn’t meet the minimum trade amount set by the Trading Rules, the system will not place the order.

Fixed Amount Buy/Sell examples:

  • Buy order: The copy trader sets the Cost Per Order amount as 20 USDT and the total investment amount as 60 USDT. The system will then copy each new order worth 20 USDT. After copying 3 orders at 20 USDT each, your balance will become 0 and no further orders will be copied due to insufficient balance.
  • Sell order: A lead trader has a 1 BTCUSDT order and partially sold 0.2 BTC. You copied the order with a total investment amount of 0.6 BTC. The system will automatically sell 0.2 BTC for the copy trader.

Requirements and limitations for copy traders

  • Minimum balance required is 10 or 100 USDT, depending on the mode you choose (Fixed Amount or Fixed Ratio mode)
  • Copy up to 10 portfolios simultaneously per user
  • Binance spot copy trading products and services are only available to users who have completed identity verification with proof of address and from applicable regions. Check if your country/region is on the Binance Spot Copy Trading Service List.

Why am I seeing copy trading failure?

Below reasons will cause a copy trade to fail:

  • The available balance in your portfolio is insufficient;
  • When the lead trader uses a limit or stop-limit order to place the order, but the order hasn't been fully filled;
  • When the market slippage exceeds the limit;
  • The order notional value is below the symbol’s minimum notional value.

Important note: Copy portfolios with 5 consecutive failed orders will be automatically closed. Reasons for the failures could be insufficient balance, not meeting the minimum order size, etc. The system will check and close copy portfolios each Friday. This measure is in place to ensure that only eligible copy traders continue to remain.

Why is the final order size smaller than the Cost Per Order/Fixed Ratio amount?

Final order size may be lower due to:

  • When the Immediate-Or-Cancel (IOC) limit order was partially filled;
  • Using the ‘Fixed Amount’ mode: When the available balance is below the cost per order amount, the system will use the remaining balance to place the order;
  • Considering slippage, the system will check the dynamic maximum size for each symbol and reallocate the copy trading amount if the number of copy traders exceeds the limit

What are the fees for copy trading?

In Binance Spot Copy Trading, copy traders share with the lead traders:

  • A 10% share of the profits from copy trades; and
  • A 10% commission from your trading fees.

Please note:

  • The 10% commission on transaction fees will be distributed weekly to the lead trader before the end of Monday. The system will take snapshots of each copy portfolio’s wallet balance at 00:00 UTC on Mondays and calculate.
  • Weekly profit settlement cycle: 00:00:00 UTC on Mondays to 23:59:59 UTC on Sundays.
  • The system will settle weekly profits when there are no open orders in the copying portfolios. Trading fee commission won’t be affected.
  • After settlement, profits are automatically distributed before the end of Monday.

Share of profits are released when:

  • The copy trader stops copying the portfolio;
  • The lead trader closes their portfolio;
  • You withdraw profits from the copy portfolio.

How to calculate the ROI and PnL of a copy portfolio?

Return on Investment (ROI) reflects the profitability or efficiency of a portfolio. It is calculated similarly to the yield rate (net asset value), which prevents the changes in capital (e.g., deposits and withdrawals).
In the following formulas, "T" represents the time after a deposit/withdrawal, while "T - 1" represents the time before a deposit/withdrawal.

  • ROI = (T Net Asset Value - (T - 1) Net Asset Value) / (T - 1) Net Asset Value * 100%
  • A Portfolio’s Cumulative PNL = Current Wallet Balance - Initial Amount - Accumulated Deposit Amount + Accumulated Withdrawal Amount

When a portfolio is created, the initial net asset value is 1. When a deposit or withdrawal happens, the net asset value will be immediately updated.

  • After a deposit:
    T Net Asset Value = (T Wallet Balance - Deposit Amount) / (T - 1) Wallet Balance * (T - 1) Net Asset Value
  • After a withdrawal:
    T Net Asset Value = (T Wallet Balance + Withdrawal Amount) / (T - 1) Wallet Balance * (T - 1) Net Asset Value
  • No deposits/withdrawals:
    Net Asset Value = T Wallet Balance / (T - 1) Wallet Balance * (T - 1) Net Asset Value
Day 1Day 2Day 3Day 4
Wallet Balance5004001,4001,550
Portfolio PNL0-1000+150
Deposit--1,000-
Withdrawal----
Net Asset Value10.80.80.886
ROI0%-20%-20%-11.4%

Note: ROI has its limitations. For example, when comparing two different trades, the ROI calculation doesn't factor in the time cost.

Spot Copy Trading Rules

Buy order:

Lead Trader Order Type

Copy Trigger

Copy Trader Order Type

Taker (Market, Stop Market)ImmediatelyLimit IOC
Slippage cap (0.3% for BTC/USDT & ETH/USDT. 0.5% for all other pairs)
Maker (Limit, Stop Limit)Once the order is fully filledLimit IOC
Slippage cap (0.3% for BTC/USDT & ETH/USDT. 0.5% for all other pairs)

Sell order:

Lead Trader Order Type

Copy Trigger

Copy Trader Order Type

Taker (Market, Stop Market)ImmediatelyMarket
Maker (Limit, Stop Limit)Once the order is fully filledMarket

Note:

  • Trading fee rate follows your Binance account VIP level’s fee rate.
  • BNB cannot be used for trading fee deduction.
  • Referral fees are supported, trading fee rebate vouchers are not supported.

How to calculate the profit to be settled?

Profit to be Settled = Max[Total Realized Profit of the Copy Portfolio * Profit Share Percentage - Shared Profit, 0]

How to calculate the profit share of a copy portfolio?

The profit amount to be settled is based on the portfolio’s PnL. The system will calculate the total profits of all copy portfolios.
For example, the investment amount for a copy portfolio is 1,000 USDT, and the copy portfolio trades multiple times a week. The profit share percentage is 10%.

TimePNL ChangeTotal PNLTotal Profit ShareShared Profit Profits to Be Settled
Week 1+ 200+ 20020020
Week 2- 150+ 505200
Week 3+ 100+ 15015200
Week 4+ 150+ 300302010
  • “PNL Change” refers to the net realized profit of the week.
  • “Total PNL” refers to the total realized profit of the copy portfolio.
  • Realized profit refers to the remainder after all fees have been deducted.
  • “Shared profit” refers to profits that are already settled.

For weeks 2 and 3, as the total profit share amount is lower than the shared profit amount, the profit to be settled is zero.

What data is available to copy traders?

On the spot copy trading page, under ‘Profit Sharing’, copy traders can view data relevant to their portfolio:

[Profit Sharing Details] Tab

  • Time’: Date of profit distribution;
  • User ID’: Nickname of the user;
  • Copy ID’: Copy portfolio ID;
  • Shared Type’: Reason for the profit sharing;
  • Shared Amount’: Amount of profit shared.

[Copy Trader Details] Tab

  • User ID’: Nickname of the user;
  • Copy ID’: Copy portfolio ID;
  • Start Time’: Portfolio initialization time;
  • Net Copy Amount (USDT)’: The investment amount;
  • Unrealized PNL (USDT)’: Unrealised PnL is calculated before assets are sold;
  • Realized PNL (USDT)’: Realized PnL is calculated after the sale of assets;
  • Total Profit Shared (USDT)’: Total amount of profit shared.

How to stop copying a running portfolio?

To stop copying a trade, select [Close] on the ‘Portfolio’ page. To withdraw funds, you must cancel any open orders, close the portfolio and select [Adjust Balance]. All funds withdrawn, including dust amounts, will be returned to your spot account when the copy trading portfolio is closed.

Please note that the minimum account balance for copy traders is 10 or 100 USDT, depending on the mode you choose (Fixed Amount or Fixed Ratio mode). Withdrawing all your funds will cause your account to close and require a new account set-up to resume copy trading in the future.

What are the risks associated with copy trading?

All investments carry a certain degree of risk. In copy trading, if the strategy you follow is unsuccessful, you may lose your investments. You may also face the risk of slippage during a volatile market or if the assets traded have low liquidity. Therefore, you should take risk control and invest rationally within your financial ability.

To learn more, visit the Spot Copy Trading FAQs page.