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. In live mode, tbot runs Tier 3 exclusively — an hourly 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. Unlike Tier 1 and 2, Tier 3 is not blocked in sideways or bear markets — genuine breakouts can happen in any regime. 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
How the Three Tiers Work
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
- Confidence threshold
- 0.30 confidence minimum (paper trading phase)
- Stop loss
- 4% below entry — trailing
- Take profit
- 8% above entry
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
- Confidence threshold
- 0.50 confidence minimum (paper trading phase)
- Stop loss
- 6% below entry — trailing
- Take profit
- 12% above entry
Mid cap momentum plays. Active in BULL and RANGING regimes. More room to move in both directions.
Unicorn Hunter
- Scan frequency
- Every hour (tripwire scanner)
- Assets
- Dynamic — any Kraken-listed asset meeting breakout criteria (1,500+ pairs scanned)
- Position size
- 25% of portfolio per trade
- Confidence threshold
- 0.60 confidence minimum
- Stop loss
- 5% below entry — trailing
- Take profit
- 25% above entry
Volume spike >120% of 7d avg + 3 consecutive positive bars. Active in all regimes — not blocked in RANGING or BEAR. Highest asymmetric upside.
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.