Inspired by Richard Dennis' Turtle Traders. Breakout trading with Donchian channel, ATR-based position sizing.
Turtle Trading is the legendary breakout strategy created by Richard Dennis and William Eckhardt in 1983 during the Turtle Traders experiment. It proves that trading can be learned and systematized. The strategy buys when price breaks above the 20-day high (Donchian Channel) and sells at the 10-day low. Adapted to cryptocurrencies, this method captures the volatility explosions typical of Bitcoin and Ethereum while applying rigorous money management based on ATR (Average True Range).
Buys on Donchian Channel 20-period breakout (new 20-day high). Dynamic stop-loss based on 2x ATR. Position size calculated by volatility (ATR) to risk maximum 1-2% of capital per trade. Exit on 10-period channel breakout in the opposite direction.
Donchian Channel (20 and 10 periods). ATR (Average True Range) for sizing and stops. Volatility breakout. No oscillators — pure range breakout strategy.
Moderate
Captures explosive price moves. Robust ATR money management. Historically profitable strategy for 40+ years. Simple, mechanical, unambiguous. Very well suited to crypto volatility.
Many false breakouts (win rate ~35-40%). Extended drawdowns during trendless markets. Requires enduring many small losses before a big win.
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