It is not possible to provide universal baseline parameters for every symbol, particularly when trading instruments such as crypto and gold, where spreads, volatility, and session behaviour differ significantly from FX majors.
A trading robot does not operate on fixed “one-size-fits-all” settings. Parameters that work on EURUSD will not behave the same on XAUUSD or BTCUSD due to:
- Higher and variable spreads
- Different volatility profiles
- Different liquidity conditions
- 24/7 trading in crypto
- Different average true range values
- Different trend and consolidation structures
Because of this, no reliable default values can be provided that will consistently handle Long, Short, and Consolidation conditions across all instruments.
The correct approach is optimisation.
You need to:
- Select the specific symbol (e.g., XAUUSD, BTCUSD).
- Choose a realistic historical period (minimum 1–2 years; include trending and ranging markets).
- Use cTrader’s built-in optimisation engine.
- Optimise core sensitivity, volatility, stop, and filter parameters.
- Validate results using out-of-sample testing.
- Confirm robustness by checking performance across different spread assumptions.
For high-spread instruments, optimisation is even more critical. The bot must be tuned so that:
- Signals exceed spread cost comfortably.
- Stop sizes account for instrument volatility.
- Consolidation filters are adjusted to prevent over-trading.
There are no “fundamental baseline settings” that guarantee correct behaviour in all market regimes. The trader must determine their own baseline through structured optimisation and validation.
If you are not yet comfortable with optimisation workflows, that is the skill that needs to be developed first. The performance of any automated strategy depends far more on proper optimisation and validation than on preset defaults.
Resources
I also recommend that you read the optimisation guideline page for trading strategies.
