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Multi-Period SMA Crossovers with Candle-Based Stops and Targets

Article Strategy library · Author: ChaoZhang

Summary

This trend-following approach uses closing-price crosses of four simple moving averages, spanning 21 to 200 periods, to trigger long or short entries. It places protective levels around recent candle highs and lows, with separate stop and take-profit rules, and describes the method as a way to follow clearer trends while limiting trade risk.

The document provides a short backtest configuration for BTC/USDT futures over roughly one month, but reports no performance metrics, so it offers no quantitative evidence that the method works. The described approach can produce lagging or conflicting signals and is vulnerable to whipsaws, gaps, and trading costs. Its written take-profit description and the levels in the source code are not fully consistent, making implementation details worth checking before evaluation. The author suggests testing parameters, paper trading, adding filters, and assessing long-run drawdowns and position sizing.

Key ideas

  • Price crossing above or below any of four SMAs triggers a long or short entry.
  • Stops are set near recent lows for longs and highs for shorts, with take-profit levels also derived from recent price extremes.
  • Moving averages lag and can generate false signals, especially in choppy or sharply reversing markets.
  • The published backtest settings specify an asset and period but provide no reported results.

Tags

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