# Crypto bots in plain words — what they do, and 5 questions to ask

**URL:** <https://onehack.st/t/crypto-bots-in-plain-words-what-they-do-and-5-questions-to-ask/327189>\
**Category:** Tutorials & Methods\
**Tags:** tips-tricks, trading, scam-alert\
**Created:** [November 12, 2026, 8:04am UTC](https://onehack.st/t/crypto-bots-in-plain-words-what-they-do-and-5-questions-to-ask/327189 "2026-11-12T08:04:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![cryptonode-nickevin](https://onehack.st/user_avatar/onehack.st/cryptonode-nickevin/32/180723_2.png) [@cryptonode-nickevin](https://onehack.st/u/cryptonode-nickevin)\
**Post date:** [November 12, 2026, 8:04am UTC](https://onehack.st/t/crypto-bots-in-plain-words-what-they-do-and-5-questions-to-ask/327189/1 "2026-11-12T08:04:07Z")

</div>

![a bot is just a rule, run fast — the promise, the spreadsheet, the rule card](https://onehack.st/uploads/default/original/3X/7/2/7222a65f87a3b211739e0b51e9dab1a7a5433811.png)

Bots are all over the front page this week — so here’s the plain-words version: what one actually is, and what to ask before money moves.

```auto
the bot · one rule, run fast — only 3 rules exist
the maths · "20% a day" compounds into fairy tales
the test · 5 questions, before money moves

```

### The 3 rules that exist

A bot is code that watches prices and places orders faster than you can click. It doesn’t predict the future — it follows one rule, over and over:

| Strategy | What it does | Where it earns | Where it bleeds |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **Arbitrage** | Buys where it’s cheaper, sells where it’s dearer | The price gap between two exchanges | Fees, transfer time, the gap closing first |
| **Market-making** | Buy and sell orders at the same time, pockets the spread | The buy/sell gap, over and over | Holding coins while the price falls |
| **Grid trading** | Buys low, sells high, inside a range, on repeat | A sideways market | A market trending hard one way |

That’s it — a pitch that can’t sit on one of these rows is a story, not a bot.

### The honest maths

“20% a day, zero risk” sounds great until you compound it:

```auto
$100 · "20% a day" · 30 days → $23,700

```

Anyone with returns like that wouldn’t need an audience. Real bots earn fractions of a percent per trade, many trades a day — think **percent per year** , fees and drawdowns included. Promising more costs nothing; that’s the tell.

### The 5 questions to ask first

- **Full history, losses included** — downloadable, not screenshots
- **Which market, which strategy?** — “AI does it” isn’t an answer
- **API access only** — withdrawals disabled, IP whitelist on
- **Your funds stay in your exchange account** — you hold the keys
- **All costs stated** — 1% made − 0.8% fees = 0.2% kept

A fair seller passes all five gladly — price was never the problem; undisclosed promises are.

> **🛡️ the short version**
>
> A bot is a tool, not a money machine: it does the boring fast stuff without sleeping. It doesn’t turn $100 into a salary — and an honest seller says so before you ask.

Anyone here run one for a few months and tracked the real returns, fees and all? That spreadsheet is the rarest thing on this forum.