Kill switch: drawdown protection
The kill switch is a master switch for the whole account. You set a maximum drawdown in percent; if the total balance on the exchange falls by that percent from the highest balance reached, the bot pauses all your Grid and DCA bots itself and sends you a message.
What it is
The screen in the bot describes the protection like this: “Protects against excessive drawdown: if your total exchange balance drops by the configured percent from the highest balance reached (peak) — all bots are automatically paused.”
This is a last-line protection. It does not replace the Stop-Loss in trades or the protections of the bots themselves; it insures you against a situation where several bots go into the red at the same time.
The drawdown is counted on the total balance of all your exchange bots (key pairs) from the highest balance reached: if the balance grew after you switched the protection on, the new peak becomes the reference point. A withdrawal from the account looks like a drawdown to the bot — switch the protection off before a withdrawal and switch it back on afterwards.
Where it is in the bot
Main menu → 🛡️ Kill switch. The screen shows the current status and the buttons:
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| ✏️ Change limit | Switch the protection on or change the percent |
| 🔒 Disable kill switch | Switch the protection off |
| 🔄 Reset trigger | Appears after it fires: resume the protection with a fresh balance snapshot |
The same actions are available as commands in the main bot: /set_kill_switch 25 sets the limit, /disable_kill_switch switches it off, /kill_switch_status shows the status.
How to set it up
- Open 🛡️ Kill switch → ✏️ Change limit.
- The bot asks: “✏️ Enter drawdown limit percent (1 – 99) Example: 25”. Enter a number, decimals allowed:
25or12.5. - The reply: “✅ Limit set: 25%”.
- The status changes to “🟢 Kill switch is active. Drawdown limit: 25% Initial balance: …”. Right after you switch it on, instead of the balance there will be “not yet captured (will be taken on the next check, within a minute)” — the bot checks the balance once a minute and remembers the reference point at the nearest check.
Statuses: ⚪ off · 🟢 active · 🔴 triggered.
What stops and what does not
| Bots | What happens |
|---|---|
| All Grid bots | A hard pause — the orders on the exchange are cancelled |
| All DCA bots, including those waiting for a start condition | Paused |
| Signal bots and trades from signals | Not affected |
If you also want to stop trading from channels during a drawdown, switch the Auto-trade toggle off in the card of every Signal bot by hand. The kill switch stops the bots and removes the orders, but it does not trade on its own: what to do with the positions left on the exchange is up to you.
Example with the numbers
The highest balance reached is 2 000 USDT, the limit is 25 %. The threshold: 2 000 × 0.25 = 500 USDT of drawdown, that is, it fires at a total balance of 1 500 USDT and below. The bot checks the balance once a minute; as soon as one of the checks shows 1 500 USDT or less, this arrives:
“🚨 KILL SWITCH TRIGGERED. All your Grid/DCA bots are paused due to reaching the account-level max drawdown. Reason: …”
The reason states the actual drawdown, the limit, the initial and the current balance. What to do next is in the article How drawdown is counted and how to reset the trigger.
Limits and allowed values
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Drawdown limit | 1.00 – 99.99 % (the hint on the screen: from 1 to 99, decimals allowed) |
| How often the balance is checked | Once a minute (60 seconds) |
| The initial snapshot | Taken at the nearest check after you switch the protection on |
| What is counted | The total balance of all your exchange bots; counted from the highest balance reached; a withdrawal counts as a drawdown too |
| Whom it stops | All Grid and DCA bots; Signal bots — no |
Common mistakes and what the bot says
- “❌ Value out of range. Allowed: 1.00 – 99.99” — you entered 0, 100 or more.
- “❌ Could not parse number. Enter an integer or decimal between 1 and 99 (e.g.
25or12.5).” — there are letters or a percent sign in the text. - “ℹ️ Usage:
/set_kill_switch <percent>Example: /set_kill_switch 25 Allowed: 1.00 – 99.99” — the command was sent without a number. - “❌ An error occurred. Please try later or contact support.” — a temporary failure; repeat in a minute, and if it happens again write to support.