How to Set Up a Recurring Buy

ryan

A recurring buy is a foundational crypto investment strategy regardless if you’ve been in the market for 10 years or 10 days. It’s basic. Crypto 101.

Most exchanges offer a Recurring Buy and we’ve been using them personally to dollar-cost average (DCA) Bitcoin since 2017.

Over time we noticed the our auto-buys filled on the same time of the day and same day of the week as everyone else. There wasn’t a way to automatically invest more if the price dipped. And the fees!

In 2023, we combined our crypto experience and technical skills to build exactly what we wanted… Stratus – a better, faster, cheaper Bitcoin DCA bot for Coinbase.

How to set up a recurring buy on Stratus

Log in to your Stratus account and click the ‘Create New Bot’ button. 

The Bot Wizard will launch and guide you along the way.

Check out the FAQs at the end of the post for more information.

Step 1: Select Bot Type

The default and most common option is to “Buy Crypto with USD” using available fiat/$ in your Coinbase account to purchase crypto.

Alternatively, you can select a DCA strategy from our list of Pre-Configured DCA bots or configure your bot to sell and/or trade one crypto for another.

Click ‘Continue’ after making your selection.

Step 2: Configure Bot

Set your currency, amount, target asset and frequency

Enter the investment dollar amount (USD), asset (BTC) and how often you want to invest.

A weekly, $100 (USD) auto-buy of Bitcoin (BTC) is our most popular and default DCA configuration.

You can edit or cancel your bot at any time.  

Next, select the DCA strategy from these 3 options:

Market Price: 

This is the default strategy for your recurring buy and the Stratus bot will attempt to fill your order(s) at the Market Price.

50% Market + 3 Limit Orders:

This is one of our favorite strategies and the inspiration behind building Stratus.  Selecting the ‘50% + 3’ strategy fills half of your budget at the spot price when the bot executes. The remaining 50% of your budget is split into 3 limit orders to catch the dips if there is volatility from a downtrend price action.  

On your screen, you will see two boxes with dollar amounts each representing 50% of your budget:

  • Spend: This $ amount will be used to purchase the crypto at the Market Price.
  • Buy the Dip: This $ amount will be spread across 3 Limit Orders which trigger if the price dips.

3 Limit Orders: 

A ‘3 Limit Orders’ strategy is great for having an automated solution to enter the market at specific support and resistance levels.  The downside is that none of the orders could get filled due to market conditions and your investment dollars remain unspent.  

Pro Tip: Consider setting up a basic ‘recurring buy’ DCA bot using a ‘Market Strategy‘ or ‘50% + 3 Strategy‘ before a stand-alone ‘3 Limit Orders’ Strategy and try our Pre-Configured Bots.

After selecting your Market Strategy, it’s time to decide “how would you like to manage your spend?”

tl;dr – The next section gets complex, so here’s a quick cheat sheet (ex: $100 weekly buy):

  • Market & Daily: Daily recurring buy with your budget spread evenly across the week.
  • Market & Once per Interval: This recurring buy spending 100% on Day 1 every week.
  • 50%+3 & Daily: Follows the price closely w/ more frequent, smaller buys and limit orders.
  • 50%+3 & Once per Interval: Buys 50% on day 1 and creates 3 limit orders to catch the dips.

Let’s assume a $100 budget allocation every 7 days. Here’s how your Stratus bot will manage spend:

  • Daily: Rather than purchasing the entire amount at once, Stratus will automatically split your budget into multiple Market Orders and Limit Orders that execute each day.
    • Market Strategy Example:
      • The bot will split your budget into 7 Market Orders for ~$14.28 each. One order is filled every day of the week depending on your settings.
    • 50%+3 Strategy Example:
      • Your bot will split 50% of $100 budget into 7 Market Orders for ~$7.14 each ($50/7 days). One Market Order will execute each day for 7 consecutive days.
      • The other 50% goes to your Buy the Dip budget. Every day, Stratus will create 3 Limit Orders for $2.38 each ($7.14/3). Unfilled Limit Orders expire after 24 hours and any unspent budget is added back to the remaining Limit Orders. This cycle repeats daily.

Pro Tip: Consider increasing your budget as a hedge against Unfilled Limit Orders do to a consistently rising Bitcoin price. Check out our Pre-Configured Bots.

  • Once per Interval: Market Orders and Limit Orders (if applicable) are created once per week.
    • Market Strategy Example:
      • Stratus will create one (1) Market Order on the first day of the 7 day weekly interval. This order will fill shortly after being sent to Coinbase.
    • 50%+3 Strategy Example:
      • One (1) Market Order will spend 50% of your $100 budget on the first day of your rolling 7 day weekly interval.
      • The other 50% goes to your Buy the Dip budget. Stratus creates 3 Limit Orders for $16.67 ($50/3) each to catch price dips throughout the week. Unfilled Limit Orders expire after 7 days and this cycle automatically repeats every week.

Click Continue to review the optional advanced settings.

Step 3: Advanced Settings (Optional)

Days to Run: 7 days are selected by default.  Check or uncheck if you don’t want to buy on specific day(s) of the week.

Daily Run Time: Select the default time of the day to place an order.  Note that all orders (limit, market) orders may get filled at a different time based on market conditions. 

How long will your bot run?

“Until I turn it off manually’ is the default option.  Maybe you want to buy right up until the next halving.  If that’s the case, some time in April 2024 could be the set end date. Your call, this is not investment advice.  

Price Limits: Floor – Ceiling (Optional)

The default setting is ‘No Floor or Ceiling.’ Setting Price Floors and Price Ceilings is optional and may result in underbuying leaving investment dollars unspent. 

Setting a Price Floor and a Price Ceiling ensures that your bot only fills an auto-buy when the target crypto asset is trading within your designated range.

Connecting your Coinbase Account

If this is your first bot, you’ll be prompted to select your exchange and connect your account (see below).  For security, we provide Coinbase oAuth which limits data and the scope of Stratus’ interaction with your Coinbase account.  If you created a Stratus account with your Coinbase Single Sign-on (one click connect), you’re also required to review and grant permission for Stratus to manage your bot’s market and limit orders. 

Coinbase may ask you to verify with 2FA depending on your security preferences.  

Please take a moment to authorize your device.  Maintaining your personal OpSec in Crypto is a fundamental right and responsibility. 

Edit & cancel recurring buys

You can Create a New Bot or Pause All Bots at any time from your Bot List.

To Edit or Delete a specific bot, click anywhere on the bot from your Bot List.

Next, click the ‘Bot Actions’ dropdown at the top right of the page to:

  • Turn On/Off
  • Delete Bot
  • Edit Bot (time settings, investment amount, strategy, price floor/ceiling, and/or sending limits)

FAQs: Stratus Recurring Buy

What are Market Orders and Limit Orders?

  • Market Orders are orders that will buy or sell an asset as quickly as possible.
  • Limit Orders will execute at a specific price to buy or sell an asset.

What is the Stratus Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA) Bot?

The Stratus recurring buy DCA bot provides

Dollar Cost Averaging Bitcoin is the investment strategy we live by at Stratus.

Why should I use Stratus instead of the ‘Recurring Buy’ inside Coinbase?

The Stratus DCA bot provides more customization and lower fees than setting up a Recurring Buy on Coinbase. Lower fees = more crypto acquired with your budget because the savings are reinvested.

How Do I create a Stratus account?

Signup for a Stratus account here with your Google, Twitter or Coinbase one-click OAuth2 method. Alternatively, you can create an account with an email address and password. If you already have an account, you can log in to Stratus here. (Stratus will never ask for or provide user account information)

Do I need to add my bank account or transfer money to Stratus?

No. When you log in to Coinbase there are multiple options to fund your Coinbase account with money (ex: ACH, debit cared, wire transfer). We will NEVER ask you to deposit funds directly on Stratus.

How does Stratus connect to my Coinbase account?

For enhanced security, Stratus integrates Coinbase’s OAuth2 method to connect with your account.

  • Ease of use: One click connect ensures you’ll NEVER share/disclose your password with Stratus.
  • Two-factor authentication (2FA): 2FA may be required based on your Coinbase security settings.
  • Device Authorization: If Coinbase doesn’t recognize your browser, they may require verification which adds an extra layer of security.
  • Limited Scope: When you connect your Coinbase account, you authorize Stratus to place Market Orders and Limit Orders based on your bot settings. Your crypto is never transferred to Stratus and remains in Coinbase custodial ‘hot’ wallets unless you move your crypto assets to self-custody.

Unlike other bots, Stratus will NEVER ask you to supply your API keys, passwords, or public/private keys.

What is a Price Floor or Price Ceiling? 

This is an advanced option built for seasoned traders familiar with Technical Analysis (TA).  

  • Price Ceiling: If you are bullish on Bitcoin but don’t want to buy at the top of the market you can set at Ceiling which will pause your auto-buy if the price of the asset is currently trading above your Ceiling Price.
  • Price Floor: If you do NOT want to purchase the asset when it is trading below a specific price, you can set a price floor. If the market price is currently trading below your Price Floor, your auto-buy will pause.

What are the pre-configured bots?

The pre-configured bots are example bot strategies that you can deploy with a click. You can have multiple bots running at the same time. For example:

Bot 1: $100 ‘Market Price’ auto-buy of Bitcoin every 7 days.

  • This is your set it and forget it bot that invests $100 a week regardless of the price.

Bot 2: $250 ‘3 Limit Orders’ bot for Bitcoin every 30 days.

  • $250 will be split across 3 limit orders based on the current market price when the bot ran. The Limit Orders with only fill if the price of Bitcoin drops by 1-5%. Every 7 days, Bot 2 will kill the expired orders and set 3 new limit orders based on the current market price of the asset.

Bot 3: $50 ‘Market Price’ auto-buy with Ceiling Price of ($25,000) every 7 days.

  • If the market price drops below the Ceiling Price, Bot 3 will trigger. Bot 1 will be investing $100 a week, Bot 3 will invest an additional $50 every 7 days as long as the MP stays below the Ceiling.

As we expand our bot marketplace more features will be introduced.

Should I choose daily, weekly or monthly interval?

Stratus provides the most customizable auto-buy intervals depending on your investment preferences.

The concept of weeks and months is arbitrary since the crypto market never closes and there are no bank holidays unlike traditional (NYSE, NASDAQ) equity markets. If you create your bot on a Thursday but want to keep your invest contained to a ‘fiscal week’, you can schedule a Start Date for the following Sunday or Monday depending on your requirements.

Do you offer DCA for anything other than Bitcoin?

Stratus is currently limiting our bots to Bitcoin (BTC) only. If you would like to set up a recurring buy for a non-BTC cryptocurrency, please contact our support team at team@stratus.io.

Do you support other exchanges? 

Stratus is currently limiting our bots to Coinbase only. If you would like to utilize a different exchange, please contact our support team at team@stratus.io.

Note: Stratus does NOT provide investment, legal or tax advice. All information in this article is for educational purposes and should not be interpreted as investment, legal or tax advice. The opinions expressed are those of the author for informational purposes and neither Stratus nor the author are liable for any errors, inaccuracies or omissions. . Digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies or decentralized finance, present unique risks for investors. For investment, legal, tax, or other financial guidance you should consult your own advisor.