Strategies
SOL 4H RSI(2) Extreme-Overbought Momentum-Continuation Long with Daily Bull Regime Filter
Outcome: Abandoned
SolFourHourRsi2OverboughtMomentumContinuationLong
Outcome Summary
This strategy transferred an ETH overbought-continuation thesis to SOL, betting that leverage cascades and retail re-staking make RSI(2) ≥ 95 a continuation signal rather than a reversion one, with a same-buffer bull-regime filter. The implementation was clean and the sample healthy (722 trades, +24.8%), but the economics were structurally broken: profit factor 1.09, a per-trade edge of ~0.14% below the futures bar, 25% impact cost and 7.68% commissions on only $1.6M capacity. The returns were concentrated in 2021 and 2023 with four of the other years negative — including three straight into 2026 — and a Sharpe CI straddling zero. The analyst abandoned it before optimization, judging that no tuning fixes a 25%-impact, PF-1.09 cost structure or a multi-year negative streak, and that thinning trades only erodes the already-marginal edge.
Hypothesis
Implementation
Long-only RSI(2) extreme-overbought momentum-continuation on SOLUSDT.BINANCE USD-M futures, 4H bars, pure OHLCV single feed. Enters LONG when 4H RSI(2) >= 95 while a 4H-derived bull regime holds (close above a 50-day-equivalent 300-bar SMA that is itself rising over ~5 days), expecting upward continuation over the next 4-12 hours. Exits on a 1.5x ATR stop, a 2x ATR target, an RSI(2) fade below 50, or a 3-bar (12h) time stop. The signal is the continuous RSI(2) value recomputed every bar; the RSI>=95 + bull-regime condition is the discrete entry gate. Sized at 20% equity notional, capped so ATR-stop risk <= 1.5% of equity. leverage 1.0.
Backtest Review
- Sharpe
- 0.44
- Total return
- 24.79%
- Max drawdown
- 13.06%
- Trades
- 722
- Win rate
- 36.6%
- Profit factor
- 1.09
Healthy sample (722 trades) and faithful implementation: long-only, RSI(2)>=95 in a bull regime, short 4-12h holds with ATR stop/target — matches the hypothesis
Single-asset, single-feed (regime derived from same 4H buffer) — no missing-extra-feed or stale-leg risk
Overall return positive (+24.8%) and PF just above 1
Fee/impact-fragile: profit_factor 1.09, impact_cost_pct 24.78% of gross, commission 7.68% of gross, capacity only $1.6M — costs consume most of the gross edge at SOL liquidity
Per-trade edge ~0.14% (expectancy $28 on ~20% positions) — below the 0.15% futures viability bar
Front-loaded and decaying: gains concentrated in 2021/2023 bull years; 2024, 2025, AND 2026 are all negative — a recent holdout would likely fail
Sharpe 0.44 with sharpe_ci_low -0.73 (CI straddles 0)
Economic thesis is contested (RSI(2)-overbought = continuation) and the result does not support it out of the bull regime
Outcome Summary
Single-asset RSI(2)-overbought momentum-continuation on a crypto major over-trades a thin, crowded signal whose gross edge is consumed by fees and impact (PF 1.09, 25% impact, ~$1.6M capacity) and whose returns are front-loaded in bull years and negative across recent years — thinning trades to cut impact only thins an already sub-viability edge, and a cross-asset thesis transfer does not rescue broken cost economics.
The analyst abandoned it at backtest review as a marginal, fee/impact-fragile, regime-decayed edge rather than a bug — the code faithfully implemented the contested overbought-continuation thesis, but the strategy over-trades a thin signal so fees and 25% impact consume the gross edge at SOL's $1.6M capacity, the per-trade return is below viability, and three straight recent negative years mean a holdout would very likely fail.
A long-only RSI(2) extreme-overbought momentum-continuation on SOLUSDT 4H perpetual futures (pure OHLCV) — a cross-asset transfer of the ETH overbought-continuation thesis — buying when RSI(2) ≥ 95 inside a bull regime (close > 300-bar SMA with rising slope, derived from the same 4H buffer), expecting the move to accelerate over 4-12 hours, exiting on ATR stop/target, an RSI fade, or a 12-hour time stop.
Over a healthy 722-trade sample (~all long, none dropped, ~9h average hold) the edge was marginal and cost-fragile: profit factor 1.09, Sharpe 0.44 (CI -0.73 to 1.61), total return +24.8%, expectancy +$28/trade (~0.14%, below the 0.15% futures bar), 13.1% max drawdown; impact cost was 24.78% of gross PnL and commissions 7.68% on just $1.6M capacity, and the gains were front-loaded into 2021 and 2023 with 2022, 2024, 2025, and 2026 all negative.
Backtest and paper results are hypothetical. Trading involves risk of loss.