Grid Trading

Overview

Grid Trading deploys a systematic grid of buy and sell orders across a price range. As price moves up and down through the grid, orders are filled and profits are captured from each oscillation. Grid trading is one of the most popular strategies for range-bound markets.

How It Works

A grid consists of evenly (or custom) spaced price levels across a defined range. At each level:

• A buy order is placed below the current price
• A sell order is placed above the current price
• When a buy is filled, a corresponding sell is placed one grid level higher
• When a sell is filled, a corresponding buy is placed one grid level lower

The result is a self-replenishing system that continuously captures small profits from price oscillations.

Grid Types

Arithmetic Grid

Equal price distance between grid levels. Best for smaller ranges where percentage differences between levels are similar.

Geometric Grid

Equal percentage distance between grid levels. Best for wider ranges where a fixed price distance would be too tight at higher prices and too wide at lower prices.

Adaptive Grid

Grid spacing adjusts dynamically based on volatility. Wider spacing during high volatility (to avoid excessive fills), tighter during low volatility (to capture more moves).

Asymmetric Grid

Different grid density above and below the midpoint. Useful when you have a directional bias — tighter grid on the favorable side, wider on the unfavorable side.

Grid Parameters

• Range — Upper and lower bounds of the grid
• Grid levels — Number of price levels (more levels = tighter spacing)
• Order size — Size at each grid level (uniform or scaled)
• Investment amount — Total capital allocated to the grid
• Profit per grid — Expected profit from each completed buy-sell cycle

Risk Management

Grid trading carries specific risks:

• Range breakout — If price exits the grid range, you're left with unrealized losses on one side
• Capital lock-up — Filled orders hold capital until the opposing order fills
• Trending markets — Grids underperform in strong trends (they accumulate positions against the trend)

PerpDesk mitigates these through:

• Vanta regime gating (grids only activate in ranging regimes)
• Automatic grid suspension when Brix detects excessive one-sided fills
• Dynamic range adjustment based on evolving market conditions

Configuration

• Range and levels — Define the grid boundaries and density
• Capital allocation — Total capital dedicated to the grid
• Regime gate — Which Vanta regimes allow grid operation
• Max one-sided exposure — Limit on accumulated directional positions
• Auto-adjustment — Whether the grid repositions around the current price over time