What is tbot?
tbot started as a real crypto trading bot running on Kraken with real money. It scanned 63 cryptocurrencies, lost a few hundred dollars, and was shut down. tbot v2 is the honest rebuild.
The rebuild introduces a three tier architecture powered by Claude AI Skills. Currently in paper trading mode, tbot runs Tier 3 exclusively — a 10-minute breakout scanner that monitors 1,500+ tradeable crypto pairs on Kraken, scanning for volume spikes and sustained momentum that suggest something is about to move before the market fully notices. Up to 5 simultaneous positions, no hard take-profit ceiling — the trailing stop rides winners as far as momentum carries. Tier 1 and 2 are benched until capital grows.
Every trade signal includes a plain English explanation of exactly why the bot acted. Every result is published here. The goal is not to promise profits. The goal is to find out what AI-assisted trading automation can genuinely do in 2026, documented honestly from day one.
Build Timeline
v1 Built on Kraken
Aug 2025
v1 Shut Down After Losses
Sep 2025
v2 Rebuild Announced
Oct 2025
Three Tier Architecture Designed
Nov 2025
Data Pipeline Live
Dec 2025
Claude Skill Built
Jan 2026
Paper Trading Active
Feb 2026
Dashboard Live
Mar 2026
Engine Upgrades — Larger Positions, Scanner Fixed, Sell Logic Improved
Apr 2026
Switched to Kraken Live Trading — Real Capital, Tier 3 Only
May 2026
Migrated to ccxt / Kraken — Removed Alpaca Dependency
Aug 2026
Switched Back to Paper Trading — Strategy Overhaul
Aug 2026
How the Three Tiers Work
Only Tier 3 is currently active. Tiers 1 and 2 are benched until capital grows to justify the broader scan cycle.
Stable Core
- Scan frequency
- Every 2 hours
- Assets
- Top 10 by market cap (BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, DOGE, AVAX, LINK, LTC, BCH, UNI)
- Position size
- 8% of portfolio per trade
- Stop loss
- 4% trailing
- Take profit
- 8% target
Steady momentum plays with high liquidity. Trades in BULL and RANGING regimes. Most consistent tier.
Momentum Mid Cap
- Scan frequency
- Every 2 hours
- Assets
- Ranks 11–30 by market cap, refreshed weekly from CoinGecko / Kraken
- Position size
- 5% of portfolio per trade
- Stop loss
- 6% trailing
- Take profit
- 12% target
Mid cap momentum plays. Active in BULL and RANGING regimes. More room to move in both directions.
Unicorn Hunter
- Scan frequency
- Every 10 minutes (tripwire scanner)
- Assets
- Dynamic — any Kraken-listed asset meeting breakout criteria (1,500+ pairs scanned)
- Position size
- 10% of portfolio per trade — up to 8 simultaneous positions
- Stop loss
- 7% trailing — ratchets up as price rises, never down
- Take profit
- No hard ceiling — trailing stop is the only exit, letting winners run
Three detection paths: (1) Full breakout — volume >1.2× avg + consecutive bars with ≥0.2% move each. (2) 15m fast-detection — catches breakouts 30–60 min earlier via 15-minute bar confirmation. (3) Accumulation — volume ≥1.5× avg with flat price flags a coin as pre-breakout CANDIDATE before the move starts. All paths fully decoupled from BTC/ETH macro. Stagnant positions (6h+ held, <3% gain) rotated out for stronger signals.
How a Trade Happens
The full cycle from detection to exit — as it runs today on Tier 3.
Scan
Every 10 minutes, the breakout scanner checks 1,500+ Kraken trading pairs across three detection paths: full breakout (volume spike + consecutive positive bars), 15-minute fast detection (catches moves 30–60 min earlier), and accumulation detection (volume building before price moves — the earliest possible signal).
Score
Flagged assets are scored on momentum strength across the last 1, 6, 12, and 24 hours — with the 1-hour window weighted heavily to reward fresh early-stage entries over stale late ones. Volume confirmation and proximity to the 48-hour high round out the score. No new entries are opened unless the result clears the confidence threshold.
Enter
If the score clears the threshold, a position is opened at 10% of available portfolio. Up to 8 positions can be held simultaneously, deploying up to 80% of capital. If capital is fully deployed and a stronger signal arrives, the weakest stagnant position (held 6+ hours, gain under 3%) may be rotated out to make room.
Monitor
A trailing stop tracks the position from the moment it opens. As price rises, the stop ratchets upward to lock in gains — it never moves down. Claude AI periodically reviews open positions held longer than 4 hours where gains are modest, checking whether the trade thesis still holds.
Exit
The trailing stop closes the position automatically when price reverses enough to trigger it. If Claude's review concludes that momentum has broken down before the stop fires, it can signal an early exit. There is no hard take-profit ceiling — the bot lets winners run as far as momentum carries.
About August Wheel
August Wheel is an AI learning and content brand created by Augustine Osei, an IT professional building in public at the intersection of automation, AI tools, and practical problem solving. The tagline is simple: Build it. Learn it. Own it.
tbot is one of several projects documented openly on augustwheel.com — including TaskCocoon, Birdie, and ReadRecall. Every project includes the failures alongside the wins, because that is where the real learning happens.
Follow the Experiment
Get notified when results are published and when the bot makes its first Tier 3 discovery.