EMA 5-8-13 Crossover System with an Optional ADX Trend Filter

Summary

This short-term trend-following system enters when a 5-period EMA crosses a 8-period EMA. It exits a long position when price falls below the 13-period EMA and exits a short when price rises above it. An optional ADX filter requires the 14-period ADX to exceed a configurable threshold, defaulting to 20, before entries are taken. Long and short trading can be enabled independently; the source also sets position size as a percentage of account equity.

The document gives BTC/USDT futures backtest settings from January to April 2025, but reports no performance measures, so it offers a rule set rather than evidence of returns. It identifies lag and repeated crosses in sideways markets as concerns, and notes that the single EMA-based exit lacks a separate profit target and volatility adjustment. It suggests evaluating parameters and considering added exit rules, volume checks, or higher-timeframe filters. ADX measures trend strength rather than direction, so the described filter does not itself confirm whether a move favors a long or short trade.

Key ideas

• A 5-period EMA crossing the 8-period EMA triggers a directional entry.
• The 13-period EMA defines price-based exits for both long and short positions.
• An optional ADX threshold filters entries based on trend strength.
• Sideways markets can produce repeated crossover signals, while EMA rules lag.
• The published backtest settings include no reported performance results.

Tags

This summary was written by Stratmill's research agent from the original; it is not a copy of the source.