Oct 2026 Bybit Referral Code BTC9149 | How Grid Profit Works | 58% Off

1. What grid trading actually does
2. Arithmetic vs geometric: the maths behind each
3. The grid profit formula and a worked example
4. How the annualised rate is calculated
5. What the numbers on the panel each measure
6. The break-even point for a single grid step
7. Six steps to set up a grid bot
8. FAQ
9. Risk reminder
10. Summary

What grid trading actually does

Grid trading follows one rule: inside the price range you set, place a ladder of limit orders at even spacing; whenever one fills, post the opposite order one grid away. There is no forecasting component at all. The bot never judges direction — it only executes the rule.

That explains where grid profit comes from: it is not money made by being right about direction, it is the spread generated while price travels back and forth inside the same range. Every round trip through the range is one grid of profit.

Futures grid offers three modes, each built on a different assumption about the market:

One behaviour is essential to know: the bot only operates between the upper and lower bounds you set. If price breaks below the lower bound or above the upper bound, it places no new orders and simply waits until price returns to the range. That also means it does not stop out automatically — once price is below your lower bound the bot stops buying, and the position you hold keeps absorbing the unrealised loss.

Arithmetic vs geometric: the maths behind each

The first choice when building a bot is arithmetic or geometric. The difference is how the spacing for each grid is calculated.

An official example makes the difference concrete. With a range from 10,000 to 30,000 across 5 grids:

• Arithmetic spacing is (30,000 − 10,000) ÷ 5 ＝ 4,000 USDT for every grid.
• Geometric spacing is the fifth root of (30,000 ÷ 10,000) minus 1, roughly 24.57% for every grid. The higher the price, the larger the absolute gap.

The practical consequence: an arithmetic grid earns a higher percentage on its lower levels and a lower one on its upper levels. If you expect price to grind upward inside the range, arithmetic front-loads the better returns. Geometric spreads the return evenly across the range, which suits volatile assets and wider corridors.

The grid profit formula and a worked example

The calculation is plain: the spread of one grid times the quantity per grid times the number of completed grids, minus trading fees.

Walk through the official worked example. A BTCUSDT futures grid with price at 20,248.5, an upper bound of 30,000, a lower bound of 10,000, 5 grids, arithmetic mode and 2x leverage:

The mechanics: when price falls to 18,000 the long order fills, and a short order is posted one grid above at 22,000. When price rises to 22,000 that short fills and closes the long, so one grid of profit is complete, and a new long is posted at 18,000.

The documentation also notes that the system adjusts the maximum grid count based on the range you set, so that grid profit stays above trading fees under normal conditions. That is a useful safeguard, but it does not guarantee the grid count you chose will be executed in full.

How the annualised rate is calculated

The eye-catching annualised number is produced by this formula:

What the numbers on the panel each measure

A grid bot panel shows several figures at once, and each measures something different. Read together, they will mislead you.

One scenario shows the gap clearly. Suppose the bot completed three pairs and shows 1,800 USDT of grid profit, but it still holds two open grids and price is falling, with 2,400 USDT of combined unrealised loss. The panel then shows grid profit positive at +1,800 while total P&L is negative at −600. Nothing is broken; the two figures simply measure different things.

So the correct reading order is: total P&L first, then whether open positions remain, and the annualised rate last. Grid profit alone will never tell you whether you are in trouble.

The break-even point for a single grid step

Whether a grid makes money depends on one simple condition: the spread per grid must exceed the round-trip fee. When spread equals fees, you are simply working for the exchange.

Here is net profit per grid at different fee tiers, estimated with taker rates. Check your own account rate for the real figures.

Two practical conclusions follow:

• A spot grid with a step below 0.25% makes no sense. Fees consume most or all of the profit. That is also why you should not blindly crank up the grid count on a spot grid.
• At the same spread, a futures grid earns roughly 0.09 percentage points more than a spot grid because its fee rate is lower. That is part of why grid strategies tend to work better on futures — clearing the spread hurdle is easier.

This also explains why cutting fees matters so much for grid strategies: a referral discount directly improves the cost line in the rightmost column above.

Six steps to set up a grid bot

1. Step 1: sort out the account. Register through the link carrying the referral code, https://partner.bybit.com/b/BTC9149, and the referral field fills with BTC9149 automatically. This is the route least likely to leave it blank.
2. Step 2: pick the pair and the mode. Decide between long, short and neutral first. Neutral fits range-bound markets; long fits choppy upward moves.
3. Step 3: set the price range. The range determines where the bot works and caps what it can earn. Too narrow and it exits constantly; too wide and each grid's profit is diluted.
4. Step 4: choose arithmetic or geometric. Narrow and calm suits arithmetic; wide and volatile suits geometric.
5. Step 5: set the grid count and investment. The grid count sets the spacing, and the spacing must exceed the round-trip fee. The platform also caps the count based on your range.
6. Step 6: run it small first. Watch which way total P&L moves before scaling up. This step matters more than the settings themselves.

FAQ

Summary

Grid trading follows a single rule: place a ladder of limit orders inside a range, and whenever one fills, post the opposite order one grid away. It makes no prediction; it earns the spread produced while price moves back and forth. Once that is understood, everything else is arithmetic: the spacing must exceed the round-trip fee, or you are doing unpaid work for the exchange.

When reading the panel, keep the order straight: total P&L first, then open positions, annualised rate last. Grid profit is realised pair profit; the annualised rate is the elapsed period multiplied by 365. Neither one alone represents your actual result. If you enter referral code BTC9149 at registration and enable MNT fee deduction, trading fees reach an up to 58% discount — and for a grid strategy that is a direct improvement to the break-even point, because fees are the most fixed and most destructive cost inside every grid.