Everything above is doubly true for people who use robots to do their bidding on centralized crypto exchanges. Any contemporary automated trading platform will offer you an option to use alerts from the TradingView website as triggers for algorithms. Other options exist, but many retail traders believe that they are usually inferior.
We will discuss some alternative ways to obtain trading signals for your robots. Some of them deserve a second look while others should be avoided at all costs.
Top 3 alternatives to TradingView bots
TradingView is, without a single doubt, the best analytical platform for individual retail traders interested in using a rich arsenal of technical indicators, graphical tools, preset patterns, and more to perform high-level analysis of the crypto market. While MetaTrader and Trading Central offer similar functionality, the former is clunky to use and the latter costs a couple of limbs to use for an individual investor.
However, using technical analysis tools and building unique systems is not the only way to obtain signals for your algorithmic trading strategies. Below are some TradingView alternatives that deserve your attention!
Specialized signal providers
You can find companies offering unique financial services to their clients. For example, the aforementioned Trading Central can produce signals in many formats if you need them for your robots. However, you will need to pay extra if you would like these signals to be prepared and packaged as something that can be automatically used by your automation platform.
Specialized vendors selling signals differ in terms of quality and reliability. Since many of them have relatively small audiences or work internationally, finding good reviews is quite hard. Choosing the right provider is a time-consuming process that often involves trial and error.
Some tips to find a good seller:
- Inquire about them in various online communities. Talk to people on Reddit and on social media to learn whether a company that promises guaranteed profits can be trusted. Reading reviews on various aggregators is also a good idea, but many providers do not have enough user testimonials or buy positive reviews.
- Do not work with shady-looking websites and Telegram channels. Always check the website history and domain name, carefully review Telegram channel (look out for accounts that buy subscribers), and do not follow heavily advertised channels or purchase access to VIP chats. Only a handful of Telegram channels produce good content. Very often, it is free.
- Work with sellers already partnered with trusted automation vendors. Many service providers allow users to connect trading signal sellers that have proven their legitimacy. In some cases, you will be recommended experienced analysts tried and tested by other users of the platform.
Note that analysts often perform worse than some basic analytical systems. The famous example from 2012 of a cat named Orlando outperforming a group of Wall Street traders shows that professionals may not know more than a domesticated feline animal.
Social media influencers
Some retail traders believe that they can follow influencers for financial advice. We strongly recommend avoiding fake financial gurus giving away free tips and some basic technical analysis. Many people became victims of pump & dump schemes or lost money after making a trade based on a tip from someone with ten thousand followers on Instagram.
While some very insightful individuals do exist on social media and give some solid financial and investment advice, notice that the vast majority of trusted specialists with YouTube channels or Instagram accounts abstain from giving forecasts for different assets. Believing that someone with a Lamborghini in the background knows some insider information about purely speculative assets is never a good idea.
Using tips and suggestions from social media influencers is an alternative to building your own strategy on TradingView. However, it is dangerous to use tips from sources that do not have sufficient credentials or may have their own motives to give away free advice to their followers.
Thinkorswim by TD Ameritrade
This particular trading terminal is quite powerful and offers a wide range of different analytical tools. It is also capable of producing trading signals that can be used by some automation service providers. Diehard fans of this platform believe that it is better than using a typical TradingView bot and can be very effective in some scenarios.
One of the advantages of the TD Ameritrade’s product is its ability to work locally as a desktop application. Retail traders are divided on this topic. Some think that working with online only services that operate in the cloud is the only viable solutions while others prefer having full control over their automation software.
Crypto trading bots powered by Thinkorswim are hard to set up for people without any technical knowhow, but in-built automation features are convenient even if they lack the versatility and customization offered by products from specialized vendors.
What are the best features to look for in a trading bot?
When it comes to automated trading, you should be looking for very specific features that make every aspect of trading simpler or more efficient. We strongly believe that automated trading systems have two critical advantages over human traders:
- Speed and reaction time. Bots do not have waste any time analyzing inputs and can process them instantly. They also do not have to deal with user interfaces and interact with centralized exchanges and brokers via API connections.
- Reliability and consistency. Robots do not make any mistakes and follow their instructions to the letter. They are better traders than most humans due to having no emotions and performing equally well at all times.
Since these two features are the most important ones, when trying to compare trading bots, you should look for some very specific things:
- Service uptime. Since bots operate around the clock and work in an environment that can produce excellent trading opportunities at any moment, you should work with companies that never experience downtime.
- Excellent user interface. Take a look at the WunderTrading’s dashboard. It is clean, simple, and offers easy access to any feature you can imagine. The speed and convenience with which you operate your trading robots are defining factors in the success of your investment activities.
- Integration with analytical platforms. You bots should be able to receive signals from different sources. Having an ability to use webhooks and get alerts from TradingView is a must. Other options are also welcome. Look for companies that allow for at least two sources of trading signals.
How to manage risks with a trading bot?
Cryptocurrency trading can be risky depending on which strategy you employ. We won’t go into details of why holding cryptocurrency may be dangerous in the long run, but it is important to mention a couple of methods of risk mitigation that are relevant for people using automated trading systems.
There are several methods of reducing risks when running a trading bot for crypto:
- Test all investment ideas. The TradingView platform has an excellent tool called “Strategy Tester” that uses your current technical indicators and settings and test them against the market history. It shows how many times and when signals would have been produced by your strategy. Another great tool is the backtesting feature at WunderTrading. This instrument allows you to run bots against the market history and check how well it performs.
- Test your bots in real time with demo accounts and paper trading. Using virtual money to experiment with bot settings and strategies is an important habit for any retail trader. Some companies offer great tools like paper trading bots that already have all the necessary features to provide a proper testing environment where you can trade without using real money.
- Use software that you fully understand. While many rightfully believe that TradingView is one of the most useful analytical tools for retail traders, you may have more experience with other types of terminals. Make sure to use something that you comfortable using to produce good signals for your trading bots.
If you are interested in building effective automated trading strategies and want to utilize the power of various signal providers, work with automation platforms that allow you to test everything extensively while providing a wide range of additional analytical tools.