PORTFOLIO DIVERSIFIER · 100% FREE

ETHBTC Momentum ETH-vs-BTC Trend Strategy [1D]

A daily strategy that trades the ETH/BTC ratio itself — a relative bet on ETH outperforming BTC. Donchian breakout entries, a chandelier ATR trailing exit, and EMA + ADX filters that only let it trade when the ratio is genuinely trending. Because it's a relative ETH-vs-BTC move, it's largely uncorrelated to plain BTC/USD strategies — its real job is diversification. Long-only, bot-ready, and free.

~50%Avg Annual Return*
7.5%Max Drawdown
4.19Profit Factor

Trade the Ratio, With the Trend

The lesson baked into this strategy: the ETH/BTC ratio trends, it does not mean-revert. Fading it lost money for ten years running. So this trades with the ratio — breakout entries, trend-following exits — and only when a real trend is present.

1 · ENTRY

Donchian breakout

Goes long when ETH/BTC breaks above its 20-period high — the ratio is making a new high, i.e. ETH is decisively outperforming BTC.

2 · TREND FILTER

100-EMA regime

Only trades from the long side while price is above a 100-period EMA on the ratio — no counter-trend entries.

3 · IS IT TRENDING?

ADX > 20

An ADX gate keeps it out of chop. Momentum only pays when there's a real trend — this is the deliberate inverse of a mean-reversion filter.

4 · EXIT

Chandelier ATR trail

Winners ride a 3× ATR trailing stop from the highest close since entry, with an opposite-Donchian backstop. Let the alt-season run, bank it before the snapback.

Long ETHBTC = a bet on ETH outperformance (alt-season). Deployed long-only — shorting the ratio tested as pure drag (PF 0.67 over 10 years) and is off by default. All account mechanics are embedded in the script.

How It Works

1 · MARKET

BINANCE ETHBTC, daily

Trades one real spot market — the ETH/BTC pair — on the 1D chart, with orders filled on standard OHLC. One clean instrument, real fills.

2 · WHY IT DIVERSIFIES

Relative, not directional

It doesn't care whether BTC is up or down in dollars — only whether ETH is beating BTC. That makes it near-zero correlated to BTC/USD trend systems, so it earns in different windows.

3 · ALERTS

Bot-ready webhooks

Clean long-entry / trailing-exit alerts (action, symbol, price) for 3Commas, Cornix, or any custom webhook — including the free CryptoScope platform.

~50% Average Annual Return

TradingView Strategy Tester results — ETHBTC Momentum on Binance ETH/BTC, 1D, 2016 – 2026 (~10 years), long-only, $10,000 fixed position size.

~50%Avg Return / Year
7.5%Max Drawdown
4.19Profit Factor
YearReturn (1D, ETH/BTC)
2016 (inception)+191.0%
2017+152.2%
2018+88.6%
2019−14.4%
2020+21.9%
2021+77.0%
2022−12.6%
2023−6.0%
2024−12.2%
2025+32.7%
2026 (partial)−1.9%
Avg / full year 2016–2025~50%

*Average of complete calendar years 2016–2025 (partial 2026 excluded from the average). Overall: +516% total return over ~10 years, profit factor 4.19, 41% win rate, max drawdown 7.5%. Returns are honestly front-loaded — the big years were the early alt-seasons (2016–2018), with several flat-to-negative years since. This is a diversifier: its value is earning in windows when the BTC/USD strategies don't, not carrying a book on its own. It depends on alt-seasons recurring. Tested on a fixed $10,000 position size, 0.10% commission, 2-tick slippage. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Get ETHBTC Momentum — 100% Free

Add it to your TradingView chart, run the backtest yourself, and wire the alerts to your exchange. No paywall — the whole CryptoScope platform is free.

Get Free Access on TradingView

FAQ

Is this a standalone strategy or a diversifier?

Primarily a diversifier. Because it trades ETH-vs-BTC (a relative bet), it's largely uncorrelated to BTC/USD systems and earns in different windows. Its returns are front-loaded toward the early alt-seasons, so it shines most as one leg of a multi-strategy book rather than alone.

Why long-only?

Shorting the ETH/BTC ratio was tested and lost consistently (PF 0.67 over ten years) — the ratio trends rather than reverts. So the strategy only takes the long side and is off otherwise.

What can I trade it on?

The ETH/BTC pair on the daily timeframe — built on Binance ETHBTC. It runs on the real spot pair for accurate fills.

Can I automate it?

Yes. It fires clean entry/exit webhook alerts compatible with 3Commas, Cornix, or any custom webhook — including the free CryptoScope platform.

Looking for our other strategies?

Browse all four free strategies — 8H ATR Bands, 4H Conviction Stacker, 6H HA Direction, and this 1D ETHBTC Momentum.

View all strategies →

Risk disclosure: Crypto trading involves substantial risk of loss. Backtested performance is hypothetical, does not account for all real-world conditions, and does not guarantee future results. Returns shown are on a fixed position size, are front-loaded, and depend on alt-seasons recurring. Nothing here is financial advice.