How the strategy works
| Rule | How it works |
|---|---|
| Opening range | The high and low of the first 30 minutes after 09:30 New York time. That is 14:30 UTC in winter and 13:30 UTC during US daylight saving, and the script switches between them by date. |
| Long entry | The first bar that closes above the range high within the entry window, 6 hours after the range by default. |
| Short entry | The first bar that closes below the range low within the same window. |
| One trade a day | After the first breakout the strategy takes no other trade that day, even if price later breaks the other side of the range. |
| Stop | The other side of the range: the range low for a long, the range high for a short. A setting moves it to the middle of the range. |
| Target | One range height beyond the side that broke. Stop and target are set when the trade opens. |
| Exit | Whichever comes first: stop, target or the end of the entry window, when an open trade is closed at the bar close. |
| Days | Weekdays only by default, because the New York open belongs to the stock market week. |
| Position size | 100% of the simulated account per trade, one position at a time. |
There is no trend, volume or volatility filter, so the strategy trades the first breakout every weekday, including days when the range is very narrow.
When signals fire
- Run it on a timeframe no longer than the range, such as 5 minutes for a 30-minute range. On a longer timeframe no bar opens inside the range, and the strategy does not trade.
- The range and the entries use confirmed bars only. A move beyond the range that reverses before the bar closes does not open a trade.
- Backtests fill orders at the close of the signal bar. Live market orders fill after the close, at the next available price, so live results can differ.
Backtest assumptions
| Setting | Default | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Initial capital | 10,000 | In the quote currency of the market tested |
| Size per trade | 100% of equity | One position at a time |
| Pyramiding | 1 | One open entry per direction |
| Commission | 0.1% per order | Binance spot taker fee at the base tier |
| Slippage | 1 tick | A minimal estimate for market orders |
| Fill timing | Bar close | Orders fill at the close of the signal bar |
You can change all of these in the backtest settings.
Settings
| Input | Default | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Use the New York open (09:30 ET) | On | On or off |
| Custom range start (UTC, HHMM) | 0000 | Any UTC time, used when the New York open is off |
| Opening range (minutes) | 30 | 5 to 240 |
| Entry window after the range (minutes) | 360 | 5 to 1200 |
| Target (x range height) | 1 | 0.1 to 10 |
| Stop at the range midpoint | Off | On or off |
| Allow short trades | On | On or off |
| Weekdays only | On | On or off |
| Equity per trade (%) | 100 | 1 to 100 |
Backtest results
Backtest results for this strategy are coming soon. They will show the market, timeframe, date range and assumptions used.
Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Risks and limitations
- Short trades need margin or futures. On a spot account, turn off short trades: the strategy then waits for a break above the range.
- Many breakouts fail. Price often closes beyond the range and then comes back through it, which reaches the stop.
- A narrow range means a close stop and a small target, so fees and slippage take a larger share of each trade.
- Crypto trades around the clock, so the New York open is a convention rather than the market's own open, and how much it matters can change over time.
- Bar-close fills in backtests are more favourable than live market orders.
- This strategy is a starting point, not financial advice. Test it on paper before trading live.
How to use it in Altrady
- Sign in to your Altrady account to run strategies. Sign in
- Open a 5-minute chart and adjust the settings and backtest assumptions to your market.
- Run a backtest and review the results.
- Paper trade, then connect it to a Signal Bot when you are ready.
- For choosing the open, placing stops and what a year of BTC opening ranges looked like, read the guide. ORB trading strategy guide
Frequently asked questions
It marks the high and low of the first minutes after a session opens, then trades when price closes beyond that range: long above the high, short below the low. The idea is that a move out of the opening range often sets the direction for the rest of the session.
Crypto has no closing bell, so a strategy has to pick an open. 09:30 New York time is when US stock trading starts, and many traders use it as the start of the busiest part of the crypto day. You can set any UTC time instead, such as 00:00 for the UTC daily open.
Yes. With the New York open on, the range starts at 13:30 UTC during US daylight saving, from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November, and at 14:30 UTC the rest of the year. A custom start time stays fixed in UTC.
One that fits inside the range several times. 5 minutes suits the default 30-minute range. On a timeframe longer than the range, no bar opens inside it to measure, and the strategy does not trade.
Only the long side. Turn off short trades and the strategy waits for a close above the range. Short entries need a margin or futures account.
No. The range and the entries use confirmed bars only, so a breakout that appears mid-bar and reverses before the close never opens a trade, and a signal on a closed bar is not revised afterwards.
Backtesting runs in the Altrady terminal and needs an account. Sign in, open the strategy on a 5-minute chart, adjust the assumptions listed on this page, then run the backtest and review the results.
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