Grid Reference Pricing

What It Does

Grid Reference Pricing is a built-in execution engine that enforces one simple rule: never buy higher than you last sold, and never sell lower than you last bought. This prevents the bot from chasing price and ensures every round-trip captures real spread.

Instead of blindly quoting around mid price, the bot tracks its own fill history and anchors new orders relative to where it last traded. This turns the ladder into a self-correcting grid that naturally accumulates profit on every completed cycle.

How It Works

1. Every time an order fills, the bot records the fill price and size for that side (buy or sell).
2. New buy orders are constrained to be at or below the reference sell price (where you last sold).
3. New sell orders are constrained to be at or above the reference buy price (where you last bought).
4. If the market moves away from your reference prices, the bot waits rather than chasing — protecting you from adverse fills.
5. Reference prices gradually decay over time so the bot doesn't get permanently stuck if the market trends away.

Three Modes

Mode	Behavior	Best For
Grid	Anchors to your most recent fill price on each side. Simple and strict — your buy reference is your last sell, and vice versa.	Ranging/choppy markets where price oscillates around a level
Reverse	Tracks a volume-weighted average of your fills rather than just the last one. Smooths out noise from individual fills and targets mean-reversion entries.	Markets with frequent wicks and fakeouts
Blend	Combines your fill history with an external oracle price. Balances grid discipline with market awareness so you don't drift too far from fair value.	Trending markets where pure grid anchoring might lag

Key Features

• Time decay — Reference prices gradually relax over time, preventing the bot from getting stuck if the market trends away permanently.
• Drift protection — If the market moves significantly from your reference prices, the bot detects this and can soft-reset to avoid being sidelined indefinitely.
• Inventory awareness — When you're holding a position, the reference engine biases exit orders to help reduce inventory rather than building more.
• Automatic per-side tracking — Buy and sell references are maintained independently, so a series of buys doesn't affect your sell reference.

When to Use

• Ranging markets — Grid mode excels when price is oscillating within a range, capturing spread on every bounce.
• Volatile/wick-heavy markets — Reverse mode smooths out the noise and targets better average entries.
• Trending markets — Blend mode keeps you anchored to your fills while still adapting to directional moves.
• Any time you want discipline — Grid Reference Pricing prevents the #1 market-making mistake: buying back higher than you just sold.

Tips

Grid Reference Pricing tips

• Grid mode is the default and works well for most markets — start here
• Switch to Blend mode if you notice the bot getting sidelined in trending conditions
• Reverse mode pairs well with wider spreads on volatile altcoins
• The time decay ensures the bot never gets permanently stuck — it will gradually re-engage
• Works alongside all ladder modes (Basic through Accumulator)