Glossary
Every term Catalyst uses, in plain English.
A score from 0 to 100 that summarizes how strong recent buying or selling has been. Above 70 suggests a coin may be overbought; below 30, oversold.
How Catalyst uses it: Shown as a sub-panel under the price chart. The bot does not trade on RSI — it's there to help you read the market.
The average closing price over the last N bars. Smooths out noise so trends are easier to see.
How Catalyst uses it: Catalyst overlays SMA(20) and SMA(50) on charts when the SMA toggle is on.
Like SMA, but weights recent prices more heavily, so it reacts faster.
How Catalyst uses it: Shown as EMA(12) overlay when toggled on.
Moving Average Convergence Divergence. Shows momentum by comparing a fast EMA to a slow EMA, with a signal line and histogram.
How Catalyst uses it: Shown as a sub-panel when toggled on; line crossings hint at momentum shifts.
A channel drawn 2 standard deviations above and below a 20-bar SMA. Wide bands = high volatility; tight = low.
How Catalyst uses it: Toggle Bollinger to shade the band on the chart.
An automatic order to sell if the price falls a set percent below entry, limiting your loss.
How Catalyst uses it: Catalyst sets a stop-loss on every trade (default −3%). You can change it in Settings → Trading Rules.
An automatic order to sell once the price rises a set percent above entry, locking in profit.
How Catalyst uses it: Default +6%, giving a 2:1 reward-to-risk ratio with the default stop.
Catalyst's score for how strong a signal is (0–1). Computed from keyword sentiment × source reliability.
How Catalyst uses it: The bot acts only when confidence ≥ 60% (default).
A fixed score (0–1) for each news source based on how trustworthy its headlines have been historically.
How Catalyst uses it: The bot ignores sources below the configured min (default 0.70).
A minimum time gap between trades on the same coin, to avoid chasing every headline.
How Catalyst uses it: Default 45 minutes per coin.
The drop from a previous peak in your equity curve. Even profitable strategies have drawdowns.
How Catalyst uses it: Shown as shaded dips on the equity chart.
Simulated trades using real prices but no real money — perfect for learning.
How Catalyst uses it: Catalyst's default mode. You stay safe until you opt-in to live.
A sandbox version of an exchange that uses fake funds.
How Catalyst uses it: Default for Binance connections, so live-API code can be tested without risk.
The total dollar value of a trade (amount × price).
How Catalyst uses it: Catalyst won't place a trade below $10 notional.
The difference between the price you expected and the price you actually got.
How Catalyst uses it: Backtests let you set an estimated slippage % to be realistic.
A circuit breaker that pauses new trades once you've lost a set % in a day.
How Catalyst uses it: Default −3% per UTC day. Resets at 00:00 UTC.