Filter Setups

A filter is a stack of components. Different combinations produce different shapes. Four canonical setups cover the common starting points: pick one, build it, run it on paper, and iterate.

The setups are not exclusive. Most experienced users start with Setup 1 or 2 and end up at the Hybrid (Setup 3) after a few weeks of iteration. The Asset Specialist (Setup 4) is a constraint that can be layered on top of any of the others.

For component-level field reference, see Filters. For the full paper-trading iteration loop, see Quick Start: Paper Trading.

Setup 1: Multi-Trader Whitelist

You handpick the traders you want to follow. The Trader Whitelist component bypasses the trader-side criteria gate: a whitelisted trader passes regardless of attribute thresholds. If their trade also passes the asset and trade gates (or those gates are open), the trade matches.

Mechanics: Trader Whitelist populated. Trader Criteria removed (or left empty). Asset and Trade Criteria optional.

Build steps

1. Open the Traders tab. Sort by Sharpe Ratio, Profit Factor, or Trader Score.
2. Click each candidate to open their profile. Inspect the equity curve for steady-up shape vs lottery-spike. Look at Funding Alpha — a positive reading means the trader is being paid to hold, a good sign for a funding-conscious copy.
3. Open the Filters tab and click the + button.
4. Remove the Trader Criteria component using the X on the component header.
5. Add the Trader Whitelist component with the + Trader Whitelist button under the component list.
6. Search by name or wallet address and add each trader.
7. Optionally add Asset Criteria or Trade Criteria to gate even whitelisted traders by coins, funding, or trade size.
8. Click Create Filter.

Sample configuration

Tradeoffs

• Pro: Concentrated exposure to operators you trust. The work happens at selection time, not in the filter logic.
• Con: Concentrated risk. A whitelist of five traders is a portfolio of five strategies; if three go cold simultaneously, the pod goes cold. There is no diversification beneath the picks.

Setup 2: Cohort Filter

You define a population by attribute thresholds. Anyone whose stats clear all the bars matches automatically.

Mechanics: Trader Criteria + Asset Criteria + Trade Criteria, all populated. No whitelist.

Build steps

1. Open the Filters tab and click the + button.
2. In Trader Criteria, set min and/or max thresholds on the attributes that matter. See Filters → Trader Criteria for every field.
3. In Asset Criteria, set guardrails on coin quality: Volume min, Open Interest min, Funding Rate range, and optionally restrict to specific coins. Note that the Open Interest criterion matches the raw coin-denominated count (not USD) — see Filters → Asset Criteria.
4. In Trade Criteria, set a Trade Size minimum to skip dust trades.
5. Watch the live estimate banner at the bottom of the builder — it refreshes automatically and shows how many active traders and assets currently match. Target 100 to 1,000 traders for a starter; under 50 is overfit, over 3,000 is too loose.
6. Click Create Filter.

Sample starter recipe

For the full step-by-step including reading the live estimate, attaching a paper pod, and tuning via analytics, see Quick Start: Paper Trading.

Tradeoffs

• Pro: Diversified across many traders. Less concentration risk on any individual operator. New qualifying traders are auto-enrolled as their stats cross the thresholds.
• Con: Loose criteria can dilute edge below fees and funding. Tight criteria can starve the pod of trades. The Hybrid (Setup 3) is the answer to both.

Setup 3: Hybrid

A Cohort filter that has been iterated on, layered with a Trader Whitelist for high-conviction operators below the criteria threshold and Trader / Coin Blacklists for known leaks. Most experienced users arrive here after running Setup 1 or 2 for a few weeks and reading the analytics breakdowns.

Mechanics: Trader Criteria + Trader Whitelist (boost) + Trader Blacklist (guardrail) + Coin Blacklist (exclusion).

Build steps

These steps assume a paper pod has been running on a Setup 2 (Cohort) filter for at least a week and has accumulated 50+ closed positions.

1. Open the pod’s Analytics tab.
2. Use the By Trader breakdown. It’s pre-sorted by absolute PnL (largest first), so the large-magnitude rows — big winners and big losers — sit near the top; the bottom rows are near-zero buckets. Scan the top for large-magnitude losers (negative PnL with a high Trades count): they are dragging the cohort. In the filter editor, add them to Trader Blacklist.
3. The same breakdown is already pre-sorted (there is no interactive sort). The top rows are the highest-magnitude entries, so identify the high-conviction performers among them — the large positive PnL rows. If any have their trailing-180-day stats that wouldn’t pass your criteria thresholds (low total volume, low total trades), add them to Trader Whitelist to guarantee they continue to match even if their stats remain below threshold.
4. Switch the breakdown to By Coin (or review which coins bleed on the pod’s positions page). Identify coins that consistently lose money. In the filter editor, add them to Coin Blacklist so they never match again regardless of the trader.
5. Click Update Filter. The live pod picks up the new criteria on the next matching trade.
6. Hold the new shape for another 50 to 100 closed positions before iterating again. Changing too frequently turns the feedback loop into noise.

Tradeoffs

• Pro: Combines the diversification of a cohort with the precision of handpicked overrides. Lets you fix specific leaks without rebuilding the filter from scratch.
• Con: Iterative. Only useful after the analytics breakdowns have a meaningful sample. Resist the temptation to tune every day.

Setup 4: Asset Specialist

You restrict the cohort to specific perp coins where you have a view — for example, a funding-carry strategy that only trades majors, or a range-trading edge on a specific alt. This is a constraint that can be applied on top of any of the other setups: a specialist whitelist (Setup 1 + coin restriction), a specialist cohort (Setup 2 + coin restriction), or a specialist hybrid.

Mechanics: Asset Criteria → Coins (include) populated with one or two coin names. Coins use OR logic: a trade occurs on one of the selected coins to pass.

Build steps

1. Build any of Setups 1, 2, or 3 as your base.
2. In Asset Criteria, add the coins you want to restrict to (e.g., BTC, ETH). A trade on any one of them passes.
3. Optionally set Funding Rate bounds in APR: e.g., for a long-carry strategy, restrict to coins with funding at or below some positive APR; for a short-carry strategy, require negative funding.
4. Click Create Filter (or Update Filter when editing an existing one).

To exclude a coin instead of restricting to it, use Coin Blacklist with that coin name. Blacklisted coins are excluded from matches regardless of other criteria.

Tradeoffs

• Pro: Signal density. Every trade you copy is on a coin you understand; every loss you take is one you can reason about and learn from. Good fit for users with a strong perp or funding view.
• Con: Opportunity cost. Capital cannot follow a perfectly good trader into coins you have walled off. For users without a strong asset view, this is probably the wrong starting shape; start with Setup 2 instead.

How to choose

In practice, most users start with Setup 2, run it on paper for two to three weeks, then evolve toward Setup 3 by acting on what the Analytics breakdowns reveal.

Iterating across setups

The four setups are starting points; the real work is the iteration. The full feedback loop (paper pod, trade-flow check, analytics breakdowns, whitelist/blacklist tightening) is documented in Quick Start: Paper Trading.

A few rules of thumb:

• Hold each filter version for ~50 to 100 closed positions before judging. Changing too often turns the loop into noise; you can’t tell whether the last edit helped or hurt.
• Widen and narrow in small steps. A filter that goes from 50 matches a week to 500 may have lost its edge entirely while aggregate PnL appears unchanged. Measure profitability per trade, not just in aggregate.
• Give each shape a fair sample. A paper pod needs at least two weeks of matches before its analytics say anything trustworthy.

Cross-references

• Filters: full component reference. Every field, combine logic, validation rules.
• Quick Start: Paper Trading: the step-by-step iteration loop.
• Pods: connecting a filter to an email alert or copy-trade pod.