After all the trend strategies — meet the panic strategy. Buys panic bottoms where RSI, MA distance and volume all hit extremes at once.
Capitulation Finder is the platform's first mean-reversion strategy — every other strategy is trend- or cycle-following; this one is deliberately contrarian. It looks for capitulation events: rare moments where three extremes align on the same bar.
1. Momentum extreme — RSI in the oversold (or overbought) zone. 2. Mean-distance extreme — price is far below (or above) its moving average, beyond a % threshold. 3. Volume extreme — volume exceeds its rolling average by a multiplier.
Bullish capitulation (BUY): RSI ≤ oversold AND price < MA·(1−pct%) AND volume spike → a panic low, historically often a local bottom. Bearish capitulation (SELL): RSI ≥ overbought AND price > MA·(1+pct%) AND volume spike → a euphoria high, historically often a local top — closes the long.
It is long-only: bullish capitulation opens a position, bearish capitulation closes it, no shorting and no pyramiding. Because all three conditions must hit simultaneously, signals are deliberately rare (roughly 3–8 per year per asset on a daily timeframe, sometimes fewer). Below 30 trades a single backtest is anecdote, not evidence — test across multiple assets or extend the timeframe.
| Name | Default | Range | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| RSI Length | 14 | 2–100 | Lookback for the RSI. |
| RSI Oversold | 30 | 5–49 | RSI at/below this = oversold extreme (bullish condition). Must be below overbought. |
| RSI Overbought | 70 | 51–95 | RSI at/above this = overbought extreme (bearish condition). |
| MA Type | 0 | 0–1 | Moving average type: SMA or EMA. EMA reacts faster (used in the Crypto-Tuned preset). |
| MA Length | 50 | 2–500 | Lookback for the moving average the price distance is measured against. |
| Distance from MA (%) | 5 | 0.5–50 | How far price must be from the MA to qualify as a mean-distance extreme. |
| Volume Multiplier | 1.2 | 1–10 | Volume must exceed its rolling average by this factor (spike filter). |
| Volume Average Length | 20 | 2–200 | Lookback for the rolling volume average. |
The pre-baked mini-backtest is refreshed daily — check back soon or start a live run in the Arena.
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// Bullish capitulation (BUY)
if rsi <= rsiOversold and close < ma*(1 - pctThreshold/100) and volume >= volAvg*volMultiplier:
if position.is_flat:
BUY
// Bearish capitulation (SELL)
if rsi >= rsiOverbought and close > ma*(1 + pctThreshold/100) and volume >= volAvg*volMultiplier:
if position.is_long:
SELLCapitulation events are deliberately rare. Three extreme conditions must align simultaneously — this typically happens 3–8 times per year on a daily timeframe, sometimes less. For statistical meaning we recommend testing across multiple assets or extending the timeframe.
On all assets with real volume — Crypto, Stocks, ETFs, Commodity ETFs. Forex is excluded because there is no centralized volume reporting.
Conservative for US stocks and ETFs on 1D. Crypto-Tuned for crypto pairs (shorter EMA, higher % threshold, stricter volume filter — matches higher crypto volatility). Aggressive only if Conservative gives too few trades — at the cost of more false signals.
No, long-only. Bullish capitulation opens a long position, bearish capitulation closes it. There is no shorting — the platform is long-only by design.
Check out our Strategy Insights Reports — pre-baked deep-dives with historical results, comparisons, and market context.