Trading crypto carries real risk
Last updated: January 2026
Not Financial Advice
Catalyst is educational software only. Nothing displayed in the app, the dashboard, the backtester, or on this website constitutes financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. You are solely responsible for your own decisions.
Crypto Is Highly Volatile
Cryptocurrency markets move rapidly in both directions. You can lose some or all of your capital. Historical volatility frequently exceeds that of traditional asset classes.
Bots Cannot Predict the Future
No algorithm, model, or AI can predict price movements with certainty. Backtests show how a strategy would have behaved on past data; they are not a guarantee of future returns. Anyone claiming otherwise is misleading you. This is consistent with regulator (e.g. CFTC) warnings about automated and AI trading claims.
Paper vs. Live Trading
Paper mode is a simulation that uses virtual balances on a sandbox feed. It is for learning. Live mode places real orders with real money on a real exchange. The two are not equivalent — slippage, fees, and exchange behavior may differ. Catalyst defaults to paper mode for this reason.
Exchange & API Risk
Exchanges can suffer outages, rate limits, latency, or security incidents that affect order placement and outcomes. API keys can be compromised if mishandled. Never enable withdrawal permissions on a key you give to any bot — including Catalyst. We recommend IP-whitelisting and using a dedicated key.
Only Risk What You Can Afford to Lose
Do not trade with money required for rent, debt, education, or any other essential expense. Treat any amount allocated to crypto trading as money you are prepared to lose entirely.
No Guarantee of Profit
Fees, slippage, network conditions, and ordinary market behavior can erode returns. Even a strategy with a positive historical edge can lose money over any given period. Past performance does not predict future results.