Introduction
In its simplest form, trading involves buying an asset low and selling it at a higher price. But trading has evolved. It’s no longer just about buying low and selling high. Take, for instance, margin trading. A trader can opt to trade asset derivatives such as futures by betting on an asset’s price, either rising or falling.
Trading has become more complicated, and derivatives are just one example of how the concept of trading has evolved. In a world filled with thousands of assets, some with multiple derivatives and extremely high price volatility, trading bots have become an essential tool amongst professional traders.
Trading software helps automate the process of applying trading strategies. Research and analysis still have to be done by the trader.
In this article, we are reviewing one such cryptocurrency trading bot that is especially ideal for a beginner but is also just as useful to a professional. Coinrule has been around since 2018, and it allows its users to create strategies (rules) to analyze the market for trading opportunities and execute them automatically.
About Coinrule
History
According to its co-founders Gabriele Musella (CEO) and Oleg Giberstein (COO), Coinrule attempts to democratize trading and offer pro-grade level tools to professionals and beginners alike.
In an exclusive interview with Finbold, Musella said that Coinrule aims to give “beginners access to advanced trading tools in a fun, simple, and educational interface.“ As a result, the platform is designed to be a “Lego tool-box” for creating trading strategies, implementing and tracking their performance in real-time.
The platform has an intuitive and easy-to-use interface. Additionally, since its launch, Coinrule has maintained a simple four-tier subscription model with a free option to help onboard new users.
The company is registered in the UK, with its headquarters based in London. The bot’s servers are, however, situated in Europe. It was founded in December 2017 and launched in March 2018.
Watch the video: What is Coinrule?
Team
The Coinrule team is led by Gabriele Musella, Oleg Giberstein and Zdeněk Höfler (CTO). Together, they bring vast industry experiences from the traditional banking industry.
Previously, Musella worked in Fintech at the Innovation Labs of Lloyds Banking Group and UBS Bank. He also started Paylinko. He has been a Google and Virgin Startups mentor since 2016.
Giberstein, a Politics and International Relations graduate from London and Oxford, has also been in the banking industry for several years. Having worked with Citigroup London in multiple roles, including Chief of Staff to the bank’s Global Public Sector Portfolio Head, he left to pursue his startup ambitions. In 2016, he created Guidelighter, a P2P mentoring marketplace for professionals to share their business and personal experiences.
Giberstein has also been involved in the Ethereum ecosystem for some years, helping organize meetups in London and advise blockchain startups along the way.
Höfler is Coinrule’s tech nerd helping execute the founders’ vision of creating a seamless and intuitive automated crypto trading experience. He has decades’ worth of experience in web application development.
He is the creator of UKey1 – an authentication gateway service used by Coinrule. He joined the company in August, six months after its launch.
Advisors to the company are:
- John Austin (ex-Chief Strategy Officer of IG Index)
- Robin Bade (ex CEO Europe of Mirum WPP)
- Oliver Snoddy (ex Global Head of Brand for Twitter)
- Mary Alcantara (Head of Startups at MKB Bank)
- Sam Artuso (High Octane’s Senior Technologist), and;
- Andrea Baronchelli (Researcher at the UCL Blockchain Centre – City University)
How Coinrule works
Trading bots facilitate the execution of trading commands on a user’s exchange account on behalf of the user. They can do this using an exchange’s API (application programming interface.)
In simple terms, an API is an interface that connects two or more software interfaces (in this case, web applications), allowing them to communicate and execute the user’s commands.
Take, for instance, Binance, one of the leading crypto exchange platforms in terms of daily traded volume. Binance offers an API to its users. Through the API, the users can execute trades and withdraw their funds without logging in to their Binance accounts. Coinrule, as an example trading bot, would request permission to execute those trades on behalf of the customer.
As opposed to most automated trading systems in the market, Coinrule employs conditional statements using the IFTTT model. The IFTTT (IF This Then That) model allows a user to spell out a given set of actions to be performed once a specified condition is met.
Coinrule enables its users to specify conditions that trigger an action on their trading accounts. If the specified condition is met, the Coinrule bot will proceed to execute a predetermined action. The reverse is also correct – if the condition is not met, then the action will not be performed.
Coinrule security & features
There’s a lot to like about Coinrule. Even though it has been around for a short time, the crypto trading bot service now offers multiple features to match and even surpass most other established competitors.
It may not be noticeable as soon as you log in, thanks to its minimalist design, but Coinrule has managed to cram a lot of functionality into its service. Here are some of the features worth noting:
Security
Coinrule has taken several measures to ensure the security and safety of a user’s account and information within its care. But, as it is with systems security, the weakest link is always the user. Therefore, even though Coinrule has implemented aggressive security measures, you as the user will play an essential role in ensuring that your assets and private information are kept secure.
Here are the security measures that Coinrule has enforced within its service:
- Secure login and authentication – Coinrule uses Ukey1’s secure login service to store and verify their users’ login information. UKey1 uses advanced security algorithms to hash login passwords and encrypt personal data.
- API key management – first of all, Coinrule does not support API keys with withdrawal permission enabled. The API and secret keys are then encrypted using 256bit AES encryption and TLS 1.2 (and higher) encryption standards.
- DDoS-proof – a DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attack happens when a malicious party uses an army of hijacked computer systems to overwhelm a targeted website’s servers with resource requests. This often leads to a website going offline. Coinrule has partnered with Cloudflare CDN service to avoid such an attack.
- Payment processing – extra precaution is taken when processing its package subscription from its customers. The service does not accept payments directly but instead uses Stripe. Additionally, transactions are marked as Merchant-Initiated Transactions (MITs) by Stripe, which circumvents the need to collect personally identifiable information (PII) from the customer.
Interface & user experience
If there’s one aspect that Coinrule excels in, then it is the user interface. It is one of the most intuitive UI of any automated trading system. The crypto trading bot service employs a minimalist design giving its users the essential features as soon as they log in to the web interface.
On the left-hand navigation, while logged in, are three main options:
- Rules. This is the default page when you log in to the service. Here you will glance over all the IFTTT rules you have created to automate your trading activities. Additionally, you will see the performance of each rule, pause or unpause rules.
- Exchanges. The page shows trading platforms to which you can connect your Coinrule account, as well as the balances on your exchange accounts. You can also add other accounts here.
- Settings. This page gives you access to user-defined preferences.
Coinrule has not yet launched a mobile application to complement the web UI. Hopefully, this is coming soon, with features such as on-the-go tracking of rule performance or even creating the rules.
Demo exchange
Coinrule provides an easy-to-use ‘paper trading’ platform allowing users to test out their rules before implementing them to live real money trading. It uses real-time data from the Binance paper trading interface, which supports all the Binance-listed trading pairs.
Watch the video: Paper trading on the demo exchange
Coinrule users, by extension, have access to the Binance paper-trading platform on a more user-friendly automated trading interface. To start, each new account is assigned 10 BTC and 100 ETH coins.
The idea of using the demo exchange is to try out a trading strategy (rule). If it returns an expected outcome, the user can then apply it in live trading.
It is worth noting that Coinrule does not support backtesting directly on the platform. This means that the demo account runs on real-time price action data as provided by Binance.
To access the success of a strategy will therefore require time and patience. For backtesting, however, you can employ third-party services such as TradingView.
Customer support
When it comes to customer support, Coinrule has you covered. There’s a ton of resources on the Knowledge Base section of the website. Everything from how to create rules and trading strategies. Differences between conditions and triggers or how to use the demo exchange. All this is covered conclusively.
Additionally, you get regular updates through the blog allowing you to subscribe to news feeds and trading tips and tricks. You can also choose to follow Coinrule on their social media pages on Facebook, Telegram, and Twitter.
Getting started on Coinrule
Sign up
Signing Up for an account on Coinrule is simple and straightforward. You will need an email address and a strong password. Optionally, you could sign up using your Google or Facebook accounts.
Once you submit your details, Coinrule will send a verification code to your email address. You will need this code to verify your account and login for the first time.
Connect an exchange account
The next step after signing up is to link an exchange account. Check out our guide on the five most trusted cryptocurrency exchanges to find the best fit for you. Three of the five trading platforms we review in that article are also supported on Coinrule. These are Binance, Coinbase Pro, and Kraken.
Watch the video: How to connect an exchange
The process of connecting an exchange account is very similar across most exchanges, but there is some similarity. The two pieces of information you will need are the API key and its companion secret key.
Depending on which trading platform you use, the API management page will be located in different website sections. On this page, you will have a record of previous API keys created for other services and the option to create a new one. For Coinrule, you will need to create a new one. Remember to disable the capability to withdraw funds from your account.
After setting up the API keys, the exchange will provide you with two keys – the API and the secret key. Copy them and head back to the Coinrule interface.
Select the exchange you would like to connect to on the Coinrule Exchange page. The dialog box above will show up requiring you to input the two keys you copied from your exchange API management page. Go ahead and paste them in their respective slots and hit the ‘Connect’ button.
Coinrule’s USP (unique selling proposition) simplifies the process of automating trading within the cryptocurrency market and making it accessible to beginners and professionals alike. No coding knowledge is necessary to start automating your trades. Their tools of choice are conditional statements referred to as ‘Rules.’
Before we show you how to create rules, let’s first highlight the two order types supported by Coinrule – the market and limit orders.
- Market order. Using the Coinrule trading bot, a trader can fulfill an order already posted on the exchange’s order book. In trading terms, this is called ‘taking’ an order or taking liquidity from the marketplace. The order executes immediately.
- Limit order. These are orders that are created to be fulfilled later when the asset’s price rises or falls to a specified level. This order type creates liquidity within the marketplace.
Create your first rule
There are two options for creating rules. The first one is to use a template from the Template Library or create a rule from scratch.
Whichever option you pick will depend on your familiarity with trading strategies. Beginners will be delighted with the template library with more than 130 templates to choose from. This is also the easier route to getting started fast.
Here’s an example of a rule:
If Bitcoin’s price reaches/exceeds $60,000, THEN Buy $1,000 of BTC from EUR wallet.
All aspects of the rule above are ‘point-and-select’ configurable. The BTC price, The BTC asset, the amount to buy, and the wallet to finance the trade are adjustable to suit the user’s needs.
The rule above is a simple example and involves a basic setup of a market order. It directs the Coinrule bot to track the price of BTC and execute a trade when the price of Bitcoin reaches or exceeds $60,000.
Watch the video: How to build a rule on Coinrule
Additionally, Coinrule enables its users to create more advanced rules using parameters called operators.
Currently, there are four operators which are:
- THEN operator. This operator allows the user to create a rule with multiple strategies that execute based on a predetermined sequence. It gives order within a rule execution.
- ANY TIME operator. It is the opposite of the THEN operator. Strategies included within a single rule can execute randomly as soon as the condition for each respective strategy’s execution is met.
- DO NOT operator. This operator can be used to control which assets to trade and which to avoid. For instance, if the trader is HODLing their ETH coins, they can specify a rule prohibiting the trading of ETH coins within their exchange account.
- WAIT operator. An effective tool to protect against bull and bear traps. These are scenarios where a given asset’s price action trend could temporarily change, triggering bull or bears to commit to trades, which consequently prove unfavorable once the initial trend continues. The WAIT operator directs the Coinrule bot to suspend the execution of a trading strategy for a given period until a prescribed confirmatory condition is met.
Watch the video: Advanced rules using parameters called operators explained
Technical indicators
A critical area upon which Coinrule needs to improve is the provision of trading tools such as technical indicators. These are analysis tools that make it easier to research any assets’ price and volume history in the technical analysis (TA) stage.
Every trader uses this, but this feature is not yet available on Coinrule. Therefore, to perform TA, a trader uses third-party services such as Tradingview. Coinrule encourages the use of Tradingview by sharing trading tips and strategies on its Tradingview profile.
It shares various scripts from time to time which can be applied directly to the market through backtesting on Tradingview. Successful scripts can then be ported over as rules and implemented on Coinrule.
Pricing and packages
Coinrule offers four subscription packages to its customers. They are Starter, Hobbyist, Trader, and Pro packages. The service does not charge any transaction fees for pushing trading commands to exchanges.
- Starter package – this is the lowest package for beginners trying to test the service. The package is free with limited options such as connection to only one exchange. A maximum of two rules can be live simultaneously, access to seven template strategies, and no more than $3k in volume can be traded per month.
- Hobbyist package – costs $30 per month (billed annually at $359). It offers more features such as one extra exchange connection over the Starter package, seven demo and live rules running simultaneously, access to 40 template strategies, and trading volume up to $100,000 per month. Additionally, subscribers get access to the trader community and live customer support on Telegram and email.
- Trader package – costs $60/month (billed annually at $719). Offers support of up to 3 exchange connections, 15 live and demo rules, unlimited template strategies, and trading volume of up to $1M. Additionally, subscribers to this package get free access to the trader community, one-on-one training sessions with the Coinrule team, Telegram live support, and access to advanced indicators and operators.
- Pro package – it is the top tier package costing $450/month (billed annually at $5,399). Supports unlimited exchange connections and template strategies; up to 50 live and demo rules; monthly trade volume of up to $5M. Additional perks include a dedicated server, one-on-one training sessions, ultra-fast execution times, and leverage strategies.
Comparison: Coinrule vs. TradeSanta
TradeSanta is one of the more popular cloud-based automated trading service providers. Similar to Coinrule, it also launched in 2018.
If you’re in the market looking for an automated trading service, the chances are that you are considering either or both Coinrule and TradeSanta. So how do they compare? Here are the similarities and differences.
Similarities
- They are both cloud-based trading bots;
- They both charge zero trading fees;
- Both offer startup templates that make setup and running of a bot on TradeSanta or creating and deploying a rule on Coinrule fast;
- They offer online customer support through email and live Telegram chats;
- They both offer support for trades on major crypto trading platforms, including Binance, Huobi, Bitfinex, OKEx, and HitBTC.
Differences
- Pricing – Coinrule offers a free service on its Starter package with limited functionality. TradeSanta has no free package but offers a 3-day FREE trial of the Basic package, which costs $14/month after the trial period;
- TradeSanta has mobile applications for Android and iOS platforms complementing its web interface, while Coinrule only offers a web app interface;
- Coinrule allows its users to implement conditional statements through the ‘if-this-then-that’ model, while TradeSanta provides for the creation of trading bots for every strategy. Additionally, Coinrule provides unlimited trading templates (or strategies) on its Pro package. TradeSanta does not offer any template but instead, allows its users to create unlimited trading bots on its Maximum package;
- Coinrule supports more crypto exchange connections compared to Tradesanta;
- Tradesanta has enabled trading chart support with fundamental technical indicators such as MACD, Bollinger Bands, and RSI (Relative Strength Index.) Coinrule does not provide any trading charts, but it does allow users to create rules with conditions that track technical indicators such as RSI and multiple moving averages (MA50, 100);
- When it comes to customer support, Coinrule takes it a step further with regular webinar events and email newsletter blasts sharing trading strategies and tips;
- Finally, Coinrule has a more straightforward and easier-to-use interface which is arguably more user-friendly to beginners as compared to Tradesanta’s UI.
Conclusion
There you have it—a comprehensive look at Coinrule, one of the best-automated crypto trading bots in the market today.
In this article, you learned about Coinrule’s relatively short history, its team of founders, employees, and advisors. We explained how the service works in executing your trading strategies, creating an account on the platform, deploying your first trading strategy, and how much it costs. Finally, we made a brief comparison with one of its main competitors—Tradesanta.
Hopefully, you now learned more about Coinrule and why it is a viable tool in this nascent blockchain economy.
Coinrule Review 2024 | FAQs
Is Coinrule crypto trading bot safe?
Yes, it is. It uses the following security measures to secure customer accounts and assets: it uses Ukey1’s secure login service, uses high-grade 256bit AES encryption for API key management with dedicated private keys for each user account. And, it uses Cloudflare’s cloud services to protect against DDoS attacks.
What exchanges are supported by Coinrule?
Coinrule supports more than ten cryptocurrency exchanges, including Binance, Coinbase Pro (GDAX), Kraken, Bitstamp, Bittrex, OKEx, Poloniex.
How do I start trading with Coinrule?
Coinrule is an automated cryptocurrency trading service. Here are the steps to trading with Coinrule:
- Open an account with Coinrule.
- Connect your exchange through the API functionality
- Create a trading strategy and convert it into trading rules to be easily implemented by the Coinrule bot
- Monitor performance, iterate if necessary to increase profitability.
Who are the founders of Coinrule?
Coinrule was co-founded in December 2017 by Gabriele Musella (CEO) and Oleg Giberstein (COO). The two were later joined by UKey1 creator Zdeněk Höfler (CTO). The company now employs tens of employees based in the UK.
