Volatility Squeeze Breakout (TTM / Bollinger)¶
What it does: Buys when price breaks out after a quiet, tight-range period, in the direction of momentum. This uses John Carter's TTM Squeeze. When the Bollinger Bands (20 candles, 2.0) sit inside the Keltner Channel (20 candles, 1.5), the market is unusually quiet: the squeeze is on. After the squeeze has been on for at least 5 candles in a row, this buys on the first candle where it is no longer on (the squeeze 'fires') if the squeeze momentum is above zero, unless money flow (CMF) is negative.
Style: Breakout · Difficulty: Advanced · Risk: high · Ready: 3 of 3 variants
When people use it: It tends to work when a quiet period ends in a strong move.
Where it struggles: It struggles with fake breakouts that reverse, and a squeeze can break either way.
Markets it was written for: BTC, ETH, majors. Timeframes: 4h (1h-1d).
Open it in the Strategy Library (on the Strategies page), pick a variant, adjust the settings and press Add to my strategies. It becomes your own strategy: edit, backtest or trade it like any other.
TTM long (fire up)¶
Buys when price breaks out after a quiet, tight-range period, in the direction of momentum.
Labels: Breakout, Long, Spot, Advanced, Medium
- Direction: Buy (long) · Market: spot
- Trigger: On candle close · Main timeframe: Auto (4h)
Entry
- IF SQZ(20,2,20,1.5,20) Squeeze on = 1 for 5 candles in a row (4h) and SQZ(20,2,20,1.5,20) Squeeze on = 0 (4h) and SQZ(20,2,20,1.5,20) Squeeze momentum > 0 (4h)
- UNLESS CMF(20) < 0 (4h)
Exit: Indicator-Based Exit
- IF Price crosses below BB(20,2) Middle band (4h)
- Loss controls: Trailing stop % 3%
Settings
| Setting | Default | Editable | What changing it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keltner channel width | 1.5 | Yes (sets 3 fields) | How wide the Keltner Channel is. Wider means squeezes happen more often (more signals); narrower means only very tight squeezes count. |
| Bollinger band width | 2 | Yes (sets 4 fields) | How wide the Bollinger Bands are. Narrower bands squeeze and break out more often (more trades); wider ones need bigger moves. |
| Min squeeze bars | 5 | Yes | How many candles in a row the squeeze must have been on before a fire counts. More candles means only long, tight squeezes trade (fewer, usually bigger setups); fewer candles means more signals, including short pauses. |
How it works (as shown in the app)
- This uses John Carter's TTM Squeeze. When the Bollinger Bands (20 candles, 2.0) sit inside the Keltner Channel (20 candles, 1.5), the market is unusually quiet: the squeeze is on. After the squeeze has been on for at least 5 candles in a row, this buys on the first candle where it is no longer on (the squeeze 'fires') if the squeeze momentum is above zero, unless money flow (CMF) is negative.
- It sells when the price closes back below the middle Bollinger Band, or on a 3% trailing stop (a stop that follows the price).
- It tends to work when a quiet period ends in a strong move.
- It struggles with fake breakouts that reverse, and a squeeze can break either way.
- Rated high risk. Built for 4-hour candles (1 hour to 1 day also work).
TTM short (perp)¶
Shorts when price breaks down after a quiet, tight-range period, with momentum.
Labels: Breakout, Short, Futures, Medium, Backtest Only
- Direction: Sell (short) · Market: swap
- Trigger: On candle close · Main timeframe: Auto (4h)
Entry
- IF SQZ(20,2,20,1.5,20) Squeeze on = 1 for 5 candles in a row (4h) and SQZ(20,2,20,1.5,20) Squeeze on = 0 (4h) and SQZ(20,2,20,1.5,20) Squeeze momentum < 0 (4h)
- UNLESS CMF(20) > 0 (4h)
Exit: Indicator-Based Exit
- IF Price crosses above BB(20,2) Middle band (4h)
- Loss controls: Trailing stop % 3%
Settings
| Setting | Default | Editable | What changing it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keltner channel width | 1.5 | Yes (sets 3 fields) | How wide the Keltner Channel is. Wider means squeezes happen more often (more signals); narrower means only very tight squeezes count. |
| Bollinger band width | 2 | Yes (sets 4 fields) | How wide the Bollinger Bands are. Narrower bands squeeze and break out more often (more trades); wider ones need bigger moves. |
| Min squeeze bars | 5 | Yes | How many candles in a row the squeeze must have been on before a fire counts. More candles means only long, tight squeezes trade (fewer, usually bigger setups); fewer candles means more signals, including short pauses. |
How it works (as shown in the app)
- This uses John Carter's TTM Squeeze. When the Bollinger Bands (20 candles, 2.0) sit inside the Keltner Channel (20 candles, 1.5), the market is unusually quiet: the squeeze is on. After the squeeze has been on for at least 5 candles in a row, this shorts on the first candle where it is no longer on (the squeeze 'fires') if the squeeze momentum is below zero, unless money flow (CMF) is positive.
- It buys back when the price closes back above the middle Bollinger Band, or on a 3% trailing stop (a stop that follows the price down).
- It tends to work when a quiet period ends in a strong drop.
- It struggles with fake breakouts that reverse, and a squeeze can break either way.
- Rated high risk. Built for 4-hour candles (1 hour to 1 day also work).
- Shorting means you profit if the price falls and lose if it rises.
- Suggested leverage is at most 3x. On isolated margin, at 3x the exchange closes the position (liquidation) if the price moves about 33% against you, and you lose the margin you put into it. Keep your stop well inside that.
- For now this version runs in backtests only; paper and live futures trading are coming later.
Bollinger Method I (BandWidth low)¶
Buys a breakout above the upper Bollinger Band after the bands get unusually narrow, with volume confirming.
Labels: Breakout, Long, Spot, Advanced, Slow
- Direction: Buy (long) · Market: spot
- Trigger: On candle close · Main timeframe: Auto (1d)
Entry
- IF BBW(20,2,125) BandWidth ≤ BBW(20,2,125) Lowest BandWidth (1d) and Price crosses above BB(20,2) Upper band (1d) and Volume(20) > 1.5 × Volume SMA(20) (1d)
Exit: Indicator-Based Exit
- IF PSAR(0.02,0.2) Direction crosses below 0 (1d)
- Loss controls: Stop-loss % 8%
Settings
| Setting | Default | Editable | What changing it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bollinger band width | 2 | Yes (sets 3 fields) | How wide the Bollinger Bands are. Narrower bands squeeze and break out more often (more trades); wider ones need bigger moves. |
How it works (as shown in the app)
- When the Bollinger Bands shrink inside the Keltner Channel, the market is unusually quiet (a 'squeeze'). This buys when the bands push back out with momentum pointing up, unless money flow (CMF) is negative.
- It sells when the price closes back below the middle band, or on a 3% trailing stop (a stop that follows the price).
- It tends to work when a quiet period ends in a strong move.
- It struggles with fake breakouts that reverse, and a squeeze can break either way.
- Rated high risk. Built for 4-hour candles (1 hour to 1 day also work).
- Bollinger's Method I: when the band width is at its lowest in 125 days, it buys a daily close above the upper band if volume is at least 1.5 times its 20-day average. It sells when Parabolic SAR flips, or at an 8% stop.
Warnings¶
- "Backtest only for now: paper and live trading of shorts are coming later.": shown on short variants. They need perpetual or futures pairs.
- Some variants suggest leverage. On isolated margin a liquidation loses the margin in that position; keep any stop well inside the liquidation distance (the Trade Builder warns you when it isn't).
- Once added, the strategy's conditions get the usual condition checks. Messages show under each condition on the entry / exit conditions screen; setting errors start with the indicator's short name (for example "MACD: Fast must be between 1 and 1000") and block saving, while the other warnings never block saving and repeat in the strategy's Entry or Exit section. See the indicator pages below for each one.
- "You already have this strategy with these settings (…). Change a setting to add another copy.": shown on the variant's page in the Strategy Library when you already added this variant with the same settings.
Good to know¶
- After you add it, the strategy keeps the library's trigger and an Auto main timeframe; you can change both in the builder. Nothing links it back to the library, except that the builder still shows the library's explanations in the info bubbles.
- Changing a setting before adding it also changes the saved name, so you can tell copies apart.
- Past results don't predict future ones. Try it in a backtest and on paper before using real money.
- Indicators used: BB, BBW, CMF, PSAR, SQZ, Volume.