Start with what you understand
An instrument is simply the thing your strategy buys and sells: BTC/EUR on Kraken, an S&P 500 ETF at Saxo, or a single equity at Alpaca Europe. Automation does not make an unfamiliar market safer — it only removes the manual execution step.
A good first rule: if you cannot explain in one sentence what drives the price of an instrument, it does not belong in your first automated strategy.
Liquidity and trading hours
Crypto trades 24/7; equities and ETFs trade on exchange hours. A rule that triggers overnight will simply queue until the market opens, which changes your effective entry price.
Thin instruments also slip more. Where possible, prefer liquid majors and large ETFs when you are first validating a rule set.
Ready to put this into practice?
Build your first strategy →One strategy, several instruments
My Metric Trade lets you apply the same rule set across a basket. That diversifies signal risk, but it also multiplies exposure — so size positions against the whole basket, not each leg in isolation.