Aster Futures Grid Trading With Price Ranges and Stop Triggers

Price bounds and order spacing

Lower and upper prices define where the grid distributes its orders, while the grid count and spacing method determine the distances between price levels. Arithmetic spacing keeps the price difference equal between adjacent levels. Geometric spacing keeps the price ratio equal, producing consistent percentage steps. Increasing the interval count within unchanged bounds brings the levels closer together. These bounds describe the order-placement range; separate stop settings govern when automation ends.

Price movement creates opportunities for grid orders to match available liquidity. Narrower spacing requires smaller movements between adjacent levels, although trading costs affect the value of completed trades. Repeated movements within the range can produce completed buy-and-sell pairs. A sustained move away from that range changes the opportunity for further pairs and can leave exposure from existing fills. Matching liquidity and order execution determine whether a price touch becomes a completed trade.

Neutral grids and directional positions

Neutral, long, and short grids differ in their starting exposure, so the same range can support strategies with different responses to a sustained price move.

Neutral entry

A neutral grid starts without an initial position, placing sell limit orders above the market and buy limit orders below it. The nearest opening order waits for execution. Filled orders can create a position after launch.

Long and short entry

A long grid normally begins with a long position; a short grid normally begins with a short position. Both combine that directional exposure with buy and sell orders distributed through the range. The long/short setup starts with zero position if the market price is above the configured range at launch. Completed grid pairs can earn income during oscillations, while an adverse move creates losses on the remaining position.

Automatic parameters and manual control

The Auto setting derives a proposed range and grid count from the selected market's trading history, leaving initial margin for the user to supply. The automatic range calculation uses Bollinger Bands. Average True Range (ATR), a volatility measure, informs the grid count. Insufficient history prevents automatic parameters from working. The Manual setting allows a custom range and grid count, and generated parameters can be copied there for adjustment.

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When does a price trigger activate the grid?

A grid can start immediately or wait until its selected mark price or last price reaches the configured activation level.

Immediate and conditional starts

A grid trigger postpones activation until its price condition occurs. The strategy then uses the configured range and order settings. Without a delayed-start trigger, creation and confirmation initiate the strategy. An activation price governs the start; upper and lower stop prices govern the end. Those controls have different purposes even when they use the same price reference.

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Mark and last price

Last price is the latest traded price of the perpetual contract. Mark price is a calculated reference that the order-book perpetual system uses for unrealized profit and loss. The readings can differ. A Mark trigger responds to the mark reading even when the last-price chart shows that the threshold has been reached.

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Stopping the grid and closing exposure

A grid stop trigger ends automation when the selected reference reaches the configured upper or lower stop level. The controls for outstanding orders and positions determine what remains afterward.

Legacy futures-grid stop options

The legacy futures-grid panel has separate options to cancel unfilled orders and close open positions when the grid stops. Each enabled option applies to the selected symbol. Disabling either option leaves that part for manual management. Closing positions uses market execution, so the eventual fill price can differ from the stop threshold. Cancellation removes an outstanding order without reversing a position that an earlier fill created. Position closure addresses that existing exposure.

Grid 2.0 exit choices

Grid 2.0 offers immediate market closure or retention of existing positions; both choices cancel bot orders. Retaining positions leaves margin and liquidation risk in place. After full closure, applicable funds return to the Futures account; a shared cross pool can retain funds for other active cross grids using the same settlement asset. Ending a bot leaves main-account Futures orders intact.

Grid income, position losses, and costs

Completed grid pairs contribute matched income, while remaining positions, funding payments, and trading fees also affect the strategy's overall economic outcome. An open position can lose more than those pairs have earned, particularly during a persistent move against its direction. The Profit/Grid preview estimates the return for a grid interval with fees deducted. Its value represents a projection for that interval, separate from the strategy's earned income. Small gaps between levels can make trading costs more consequential relative to the price movement captured.

Trading fees depend on the contract category, applicable account tier, and whether execution adds or removes liquidity. A resting limit order can add liquidity and receive maker fee treatment. An immediately matching order removes liquidity and receives taker fee treatment. A market close at termination can incur a different execution cost from earlier resting orders.

Funding transfers value between long and short holders. A positive funding rate makes longs pay shorts, while a negative rate reverses that flow. The amount depends on position size, mark price, and the applicable rate. A grid that carries exposure through funding settlement can therefore pay or receive funding between completed pairs. Funding intervals can change, affecting the frequency of those transfers.

Margin constraints and grid versions

Grid creation depends on compatible account settings, the required balance, and sufficient margin for individual orders, with separate rules for Grid 2.0 and legacy grids. The required initial margin reflects the grid count, leverage, and price range. Each order must meet its minimum notional requirement. The long/short interface displays the amount needed when the supplied margin is insufficient.

Grid 2.0 serves main accounts; regular user subaccounts retain the legacy mechanism. Bot margin stays separate from main perpetual trading. Cross grids share margin for the same settlement asset, so liquidation of the shared pool can affect multiple cross grids. Isolated grids hold separate margin. Creation requires the market's settlement asset without automatic conversion. Transferring margin to a bot reduces the balance supporting other main-account positions.

The legacy manual setup requires One-Way Mode and a selected symbol without existing orders, positions, or an active grid. Its limit of 10 active or pending strategies applies to that mechanism. Order-book perpetual positions face liquidation when their margin falls below the maintenance requirement. Insufficient margin can also prevent order placement and terminate a legacy grid.

Trading eligibility includes a minimum age of 18 and jurisdiction restrictions. The prohibited list includes the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, China, North Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Cuba, Iran, Venezuela, and Syria. Restrictions also cover designated sanctioned jurisdictions and prohibited persons. Connecting a wallet does not override those conditions.

A scaled order distributes one total order size into simultaneous limit sub-orders across a range. A futures grid manages a continuing buy-and-sell strategy with position exposure and exit controls.