BTC-USDT perpetual futures

Your first trade with AlphaEngine, step by step

This guide is for people who have never traded. By the end, you'll be able to place a signal in a couple of minutes. You don't need to read charts or do any tricky math: the bot gives you every number and you just copy it.

Before you start

You need:

An account on an exchange that offers BTC-USDT perpetual futures and is allowed in your country (or a demo account, to practice without real money).
USDT, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar: 1 USDT is worth about 1 dollar.
Telegram on your phone, to receive the signals.

Only use money you can afford to lose. Some trades go wrong, and we publish every single one.

Which exchange should I use?

You can use any exchange you like, as long as it offers BTC-USDT perpetual futures and is allowed in your country. Spreads (the gap between the buy and sell price), fees and how the stop and take-profit fill vary between exchanges, and that can affect your result.

If you'd like to practice without risking money, some exchanges offer a demo account with virtual funds.

Step 1 · Have an exchange account

Already have an account? Go straight to step 2.

Not yet? Pick an exchange and create one:

Sign up with your email or phone number.
Complete identity verification (KYC) if the exchange asks for it: it usually needs photo ID and a selfie. Without it, many exchanges won't let you deposit or trade normally.

Step 2 · Deposit USDT

If you already have USDT somewhere else: on your exchange, go to the deposit section, choose USDT and the network, and copy the address. Send from your other account using exactly the same network. If the networks don't match, the money can be lost.
If you don't have USDT: buy it on your exchange by card or bank transfer, if it offers that, in the section for buying crypto.

Step 3 · Move your USDT to perpetual futures

Many exchanges keep money in separate wallets. With Transfer, move your USDT to the perpetual futures (USDT-M) wallet. It's usually an internal transfer: free and instant. The names vary between exchanges.

Step 4 · How to read a signal

This is how a signal arrives on Telegram (example):

BTC-USDT · Perpetual futures · LONG
Entry (limit): 61,240
Stop: 60,610
Take-profit: 62,450
Entry size: 2% of your account
Leverage: 97x
Margin: Cross
Score: 86/100

LONG / SHORT: LONG = you buy (you make money if the price goes up). SHORT = you sell (you make money if the price goes down).
Entry (limit): The price you get in at. You leave the order sitting there and it fills automatically when the price reaches it.
Stop: Your stop-loss, your safety net. If the price moves against you, the trade closes here.
Take-profit: The price where you get paid. The trade closes automatically in profit.
Entry size: The share of your balance you enter with (0.5% or 2%). If the stop fills at the stated price, you lose roughly that amount.
Leverage: The bot works it out so that, if the stop fills at the stated price, you lose roughly your entry amount. That's why it changes with every signal and can be high when the entry is small. In a sharp move you can lose more, or get liquidated before the stop. Use exactly that figure.
Margin: Cross or Isolated. The bot tells you which one to use for each signal (explained in step 5).
Score: The system's score, from 0 to 100. The higher it is, the more closely the trade meets the system's rules. It isn't the probability of winning.

Step 5 · Set up the trade

On the BTC-USDT perpetual futures screen:

Margin mode: whichever the signal says.
Leverage: tap the number (for example “20x”) and change it to the one in the signal.

Cross margin

Your whole futures balance backs your trades, so the exchange is less likely to liquidate you before the stop is hit, though it can happen if the market moves very fast.

Risk: a trade without a stop can wipe out your whole account. On cross, a stop is a must.

Isolated margin

You only risk what you put into that trade; the rest of your balance stays separate.

Risk: if the leverage is too high, the exchange can liquidate the trade before it hits the stop. Use the percentage and leverage the bot gives for isolated margin.

Step 6 · Work out how much to enter with

One multiplication: your futures balance × the signal's %.

Your balance	Signal at 2%	Signal at 0.5%
100 USDT	2 USDT	0.50 USDT
1,000 USDT	20 USDT	5 USDT
10,000 USDT	200 USDT	50 USDT
100,000 USDT	2,000 USDT	500 USDT

Don't want to do the math? Use our entry calculator: choose cross or isolated, enter your balance and the bot's % and leverage, and it tells you how many USDT to enter with.

Step 7 · Place the order

Choose Limit (a limit order).
Choose Long or Short, as the signal says.
Price: the signal's Entry.
Amount: the figure you worked out in step 6.
Turn on TP/SL and enter the Take-profit and the Stop.
Confirm the order.

Before confirming, check: Long or Short, price, amount, stop, take-profit, leverage and margin mode.

Step 8 · Now, wait

The order stays open until the price touches the Entry. It may take a while, or never fill at all, and that's normal.
Once it fills, it closes automatically at the stop or the take-profit. You don't have to sit and watch it.
Signals arrive during New York market hours: 13:30 to 20:00 UTC (14:30 to 21:00 UTC in winter).
If you're on Elite, the bot will tell you when to move the stop to the entry price (break-even).

The 5 golden rules

Copy the signal exactly. Don't change prices, entry size or leverage on a hunch.
Never trade without a stop. On cross margin it's not just good advice: it's what protects your whole account.
Never enter with more than the % the bot gives, or with more leverage. If you raise the leverage with the same entry, the trade grows and you lose more than planned at the stop.
Don't chase the price. If it moves away without filling your order, don't jump in at a different price.
Losses are part of the system. Judge results over months, not one trade.

Common mistakes

Trading a pair other than BTC-USDT perpetual futures.
Depositing on a different network from the one the address is for.
Leaving the USDT in the spot wallet instead of moving it to futures.
Placing a market order instead of a limit order.
Forgetting to turn on TP/SL.
Using a different margin mode than the signal says.
Raising the leverage or entry size to make money faster.