What a tick is worth
A maker posts a limit order and competes for execution. Improving the best price by one tick can improve price priority, but gives up part of the quoted edge. Venue matching rules, competing orders and subsequent price moves still determine whether and how it fills.
The cost in basis points is tick size / price × 10,000. A hypothetical $0.01 tick at a $2,000 price costs 0.05 bp. The same tick at $20 costs 5 bp. These are arithmetic examples, not current gold or silver prices or venue specifications.
Check the current tick size and instrument price. A parameter that is inexpensive on one market can be costly on another; a gold mode is not a universal preset.
Two levers, different trade-offs
Price improvement and requoting frequency affect different parts of execution. Read them alongside fees, fill quality and inventory rather than treating more fills as a win.
- Price improvement
A better price can attract fills but narrows the spread available to cover fees and adverse selection. It does not guarantee queue priority or profit.
- Requote distance
A smaller threshold follows the market more closely, but replacement can lose time priority and adds order activity. A larger threshold can leave stale quotes.
- Evaluate together
Compare filled turnover, net P&L, fees, inventory and forced exits over comparable periods. A simulation and a live run are different kinds of evidence.
CPM means cost per million of filled turnover under a disclosed accounting convention. Lower cost alone does not establish lower risk. Historical measurements without exact endpoints and methodology are not presented here as current results.
Patient with time, impatient with direction
A filled quote creates a position. Inventory controls determine when further exposure is restricted and when an exit is attempted. Current settings and engine version matter; old test thresholds are not a specification for every future session.
- Hold time
Allowing more time for an exit also leaves capital exposed for longer. An unrealised loss is not necessarily temporary.
- Maker-first exit
A passive exit may lower execution fees but may not fill. Risk controls can require a more urgent exit with taker costs or slippage.
- Adverse drift
Price moving against inventory can trigger an exit rule. A threshold is not a guaranteed maximum loss, particularly during gaps or interruptions.
- Inventory limits
Restricting exposure-growing orders can lower turnover. Confirm the position cap, current inventory and reducing orders in the session display.
Evaluate turnover and risk together. More volume is not inherently better if it requires larger inventory, a deeper drawdown or more expensive exits.
Read the state before interpreting inactivity
- Warm-up and waiting
A mode can wait for sufficient observations or suitable conditions. Check its actual state and reason rather than assuming every quiet period is normal.
- Position evidence
An unavailable position read is not proof of zero inventory. Check the venue if the dashboard is stale or inconsistent.
- Data freshness
Read timestamps alongside status. Do not increase size or disable a control merely to make an idle session trade.
Decide your loss limits before starting
Review clip size, inventory cap, leverage and loss limits together. A setting copied from another mode or a screenshot may not fit your exposure or risk tolerance. Trading can lose money.
Do not widen or disable a stop just to keep the bot running. If a control repeatedly triggers, investigate the exposure, costs and reason first. A strategy is not suitable merely because it can run for longer.
A signed Stop requests cancellation and flattening. Wait for the terminal status, then independently confirm the venue position is flat and there are no open orders; review History too. Venue or network problems can delay completion, and exits can incur taker fees and losses. If cleanup fails or remains unknown, do not start another session; inspect the venue and contact support. Revoking a key does not itself close positions or cancel orders. Review risk controls and costs.
Five steps
Check Ondo access. Confirm current eligibility, regional restrictions and account compatibility before funding for bot access. Register through the invite link (code 867C4M) if eligible. Already have an Ondo account made another way? Ask support about access before creating another account or moving funds. The Ondo guide covers the account step by step.
Connect. Open the connect page, select Ondo and inspect the requested wallet authorization. Use only the required trading permissions, checking the venue's current scope, expiry and revocation options. Never enter a seed phrase or share a key.
Market. Choose XAU. Vulcan is offered on gold and nowhere else, for the reason at the top of this page.
Mode. Open Settings / Strategy and choose Vulcan. Confirm the active market and mode before each Start, even when a previous choice was saved.
Size and limits. Review clip, inventory ceiling, leverage and loss limits before a signed Start. Check current venue minimums without raising leverage just to bypass them. Monitor actual session state, orders, positions and any waiting or rejection reason; a signature alone does not prove quoting began.
What Vulcan cannot do
Remove account risk. Restrict authorization to trading, inspect its actual scope and venue revocation controls, and do not grant withdrawal access. A non-withdrawing key can still submit losing trades.
Promise a return. It is a market-making strategy: it attempts to earn from quoting, but fees, funding and adverse selection can exceed that return. Turnover itself is not income.
Run on another market. Ask for it elsewhere and you get only the modes offered for the selected instrument. Check the active mode rather than assuming a fallback.
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