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Finaxion Research · Smart Money: the liquidity sweep · cryptocurrencies · Recomputed 2026-09-10

Does Smart Money: the liquidity sweep work on BTC/USD?

Smart Money: the liquidity sweep does not beat buy-and-hold on BTC/USD: -55.1 points a year over 12 years.

Total return
-19.9%
Buy and hold
×172
CAGR
-1.3%
Sharpe
-1.22
Max drawdown
-29.5%
Trades
46
Out of sample
—
Years
12
1×10×100×201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
StrategyBTC/USD

Findings

  1. Smart Money: the liquidity sweep does not beat buy-and-hold on BTC/USD: -55.1 points a year over 12 years.
  2. Against the S&P 500 over the same window: -15.0 points a year.
  3. Total return -19.9% versus ×172 for buy-and-hold, with 46 trades.
  4. Maximum drawdown -29.5%.
  5. It beats in neither half of the history (split at 2020).
  6. It ranks #198 of 227 markets for this strategy by annual excess over the S&P 500.

Findings derived from the full panel. Each carries its number and its denominator; the computations are reproducible with artifact 2544360d2bb7.

Exactly what was tested

Mechanical approximation: 25-bar low pierced with a close back above it on the same bar → entry; exit after 20 bars.

How to read it

The verdict compares the strategy with buying and holding BTC/USD over the same window, with round-trip costs per asset class. “Out of sample” is walk-forward: the rule is fit on one stretch and judged on the next. A result that beats in the full sample but not out of it is overfit. Full methodology in the protocol. How we test.

Open this backtest with its trades   Trades (CSV)

Every strategy on BTC/USD → · Full page for Smart Money: the liquidity sweep →

How to cite

Finaxion Research (2026). Does Smart Money: the liquidity sweep work on BTC/USD?. Daily backtest 1962-01-01–2026-08-31, artifact 2544360d2bb7. https://finaxion.app/en/research/liquidity-sweep/btc-usd

Not a recommendation. Past performance does not guarantee future results.