Question 1

What is EdgeLedger?

Accepted Answer

EdgeLedger is an all-in-one trading journal and analytics platform at edge-ledger.io for crypto, forex, CFD, and TradFi traders. It connects to 10+ exchanges via read-only API keys and MetaTrader (MT4/MT5) via the EdgeLedger Bridge, automatically syncing trade history. It provides unified analytics, trade review workflows, prop firm challenge tracking with Monte Carlo simulation, funded account payout tracking, mentor/coach access, and tax reports for both crypto and Forex/CFD trades.

Question 2

Is EdgeLedger free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. EdgeLedger has a free forever tier that includes up to 30 manual trades per month at no cost. Paid plans (Basic, Pro, and Lifetime) unlock higher limits, automation, AI-powered insights, tax report exports, prop firm challenge tracking, Monte Carlo challenge predictor, mentor access, and funded payout tracker.

Question 3

Which exchanges and brokers does EdgeLedger support?

Accepted Answer

EdgeLedger supports 10+ major crypto exchanges including Binance, Kraken, Coinbase, OKX, Bybit, KuCoin, BitGet, MEXC, Gate.io, and Crypto.com via read-only API keys. It also supports MetaTrader MT4 and MT5 via the EdgeLedger Bridge for forex, CFD, indices, commodities, and metals. Trades can also be imported manually via CSV.

Question 4

Does EdgeLedger support forex and CFD trading?

Accepted Answer

Yes. EdgeLedger supports forex, CFD, index, commodity, and metal trading via MetaTrader integration and CSV import. It has a dedicated Forex/CFD market mode that hides crypto-specific features and shows only forex-relevant analytics. Tax exports are also separated: crypto traders get a cost-basis report while forex/CFD traders get an aggregate realized PnL export.

Question 5

Is it safe to connect my exchange API keys to EdgeLedger?

Accepted Answer

Yes. EdgeLedger only accepts read-only API keys, which means it can fetch your trade history but cannot place orders, withdraw funds, or modify your account in any way. Your funds remain fully under your control at all times.

Question 6

Does EdgeLedger support MetaTrader (MT4 and MT5)?

Accepted Answer

Yes. EdgeLedger includes the EdgeLedger Bridge, a MetaTrader plugin compatible with MT4 and MT5. It connects your MetaTrader account to EdgeLedger to automatically sync forex, CFD, index, commodity, and metal trade history alongside any crypto trades.

Question 7

Can EdgeLedger help with prop firm challenges like FTMO?

Accepted Answer

Yes. EdgeLedger has dedicated prop firm challenge tracking dashboards. Traders can track drawdown limits, profit targets, and minimum trading days for challenges from firms like FTMO, The5ers, E8 Funding, MyForexFunds, FundedNext, TopStep, and others. Pro users also get a Monte Carlo Challenge Predictor that estimates pass probability based on their own historical trade distribution.

Question 8

What is the Monte Carlo Challenge Predictor?

Accepted Answer

The Monte Carlo Challenge Predictor is a Pro/Lifetime feature that runs 1,000 simulated trading scenarios using the user's recent trade history to estimate the probability of passing or failing a prop firm challenge. It outputs pass probability, drawdown failure probability, expected ending balance, and balance percentile bands. Results are presented as estimates, not guarantees.

Question 9

What is Mentor Access in EdgeLedger?

Accepted Answer

Mentor Access (also called Coach Mode) is a Pro/Lifetime feature that lets traders generate a time-limited, scoped access link for a coach or mentor. The mentor can view only the specific challenge, post-mortem, or selected trades the trader shares — they cannot view billing, API keys, or unrelated data. Mentors can leave feedback notes that are visually distinct from the trader's own private notes. Access can be revoked at any time.

Question 10

Does EdgeLedger track funded account payouts?

Accepted Answer

Yes. EdgeLedger includes a Funded Payout Tracker for traders who have passed a prop firm challenge and are trading a funded account. Traders enter their profit split, account balance, and next payout date to see a countdown and estimated trader cut. Outputs are presented as estimates.

Question 11

Does EdgeLedger generate tax reports?

Accepted Answer

Yes. EdgeLedger Pro and Lifetime plans include two types of tax exports: a crypto cost-basis report using lot-matching for crypto trades, and a Forex/CFD aggregate realized PnL export for MetaTrader, forex, CFD, index, commodity, and metal trades. Both exports are informational and are not tax advice.

Question 12

What analytics does EdgeLedger provide?

Accepted Answer

EdgeLedger provides comprehensive trading analytics including win rate, profit factor, average risk-to-reward ratio, max drawdown, best and worst sessions, performance by asset and market mode, equity curve charts, and periodic performance reports. Pro users also get AI-powered trade insights, goals tracking, and broker reconciliation reports.

Question 13

Why do most traders lose money?

Accepted Answer

Studies consistently show that 70–90% of retail traders lose money over the long term. The main reasons are: (1) poor risk management — risking too much per trade so that a losing streak wipes the account, (2) no trading plan — entering trades based on emotion or tips rather than a defined strategy, (3) revenge trading — trying to recover losses immediately by taking impulsive, oversized positions, (4) no review process — repeating the same mistakes because they were never identified and logged, and (5) overtrading — taking marginal setups out of boredom or greed. A trading journal addresses reasons 3, 4, and 5 directly.

Question 14

How can I stop losing money trading?

Accepted Answer

The fastest path to stopping losses is to first understand where they come from. Start by logging every trade in a journal with setup type, entry reasoning, and execution quality. After 30–50 trades, filter your losing trades: are they from a specific setup, time of day, emotional state, or market condition? Most traders discover that 20% of their trade types cause 80% of their losses. Eliminating those trade types — even temporarily — often produces an immediate improvement. Pair this with a hard daily loss limit (stop trading when you lose 2–3% in a day) to prevent drawdown spirals.

Question 15

What is a good win rate for a trader?

Accepted Answer

A 'good' win rate depends entirely on your average risk-to-reward ratio. The breakeven win rate formula is: 1 ÷ (1 + Reward/Risk). For a 1:2 R:R strategy, you only need a 33% win rate to break even. For a 1:1 R:R strategy, you need 50%. Professional traders typically target 40–55% win rates on 1:2 or better R:R setups. Chasing a high win rate (70%+) usually means taking small profits quickly, which produces an unfavourable risk-reward and a negative profit factor once losses compound.

Question 16

How do I know if my trading strategy is actually working?

Accepted Answer

A strategy is working if it has positive expectancy over a statistically meaningful sample — typically 50–100 trades. Calculate: Expectancy = (Win Rate × Average Win) − (Loss Rate × Average Loss). Any positive expectancy is a working strategy. Key red flags that a strategy is not working: profit factor below 1.0, expectancy negative, or performance only positive in the last 5–10 trades (likely a lucky run). A trading journal with structured tagging lets you measure expectancy by setup type, giving you a precise answer to this question.

Question 17

What is position sizing and why does it matter?

Accepted Answer

Position sizing is the process of calculating how large a position to take based on your account size, risk tolerance, and stop-loss distance. The standard formula is: Position Size = (Account × Risk%) ÷ (Entry Price − Stop Loss Price). Most professional traders risk 0.5–2% of their account per trade. This ensures that even a 10-trade losing streak only costs 5–20% of the account — recoverable. Traders who skip position sizing and 'feel out' their trade sizes are the ones who turn a bad week into a blown account.

Question 18

How does a trading journal help improve trading discipline?

Accepted Answer

A trading journal improves discipline through three mechanisms: (1) Pre-trade accountability — knowing you have to log why you took a trade forces you to have a reason before entering, (2) Post-trade review — reviewing losing trades weekly makes mistakes tangible and harder to ignore or repeat, and (3) Pattern detection — data from 50+ logged trades reveals which behaviors (revenge trading, skipping checklists, trading outside your session) are costing you money. EdgeLedger automates this process by syncing trades from your exchanges and providing analytics that surface behavioral patterns automatically.

Question 19

What is a drawdown in trading and how much is acceptable?

Accepted Answer

Drawdown is the percentage decline from an account's peak equity to its current value. If your account goes from $10,000 to $8,000, you are in a 20% drawdown. Recovering from drawdown is mathematically asymmetric: a 20% loss requires a 25% gain to recover; a 50% loss requires a 100% gain. For this reason, professional traders use maximum drawdown rules: many institutional traders cap drawdown at 10–15% and cut position sizes dramatically when approaching the limit. For retail traders, a max drawdown policy of 15–20% before stopping to review the strategy is a reasonable framework.

Question 20

How long does it take to become a profitable trader?

Accepted Answer

Most traders report that consistent profitability takes 1–3 years of active trading with structured review. The key variable is the quality of the feedback loop: traders who log every trade, review weekly, and adjust their rules based on data reach profitability much faster than those who trade without structure. The specific milestone most traders point to is after 200–300 logged and reviewed trades — at that point, patterns in your own behavior and edge become clear enough to act on reliably.

Question 21

Is day trading crypto profitable?

Accepted Answer

Day trading crypto can be profitable, but it is difficult and most day traders lose money, especially in the first 1–2 years. The main challenges are: fees that erode small gains on frequent trades, the psychological difficulty of making fast decisions under financial pressure, and the need for a statistically significant edge that most beginners have not yet developed. The traders who succeed at crypto day trading typically have: a documented strategy with positive backtest results, strict position sizing rules, a daily loss limit, and a journal-based review process. Without all four, day trading is closer to gambling than investing.

Question 22

What is trading expectancy and how do I calculate it?

Accepted Answer

Trading expectancy measures the average amount you expect to win or lose per unit of risk across all your trades. Formula: Expectancy = (Win Rate × Average Win in R) − (Loss Rate × Average Loss in R). If you win 45% of trades with an average win of 2R and lose 55% with an average loss of 1R, your expectancy is (0.45 × 2) − (0.55 × 1) = 0.9 − 0.55 = +0.35R per trade. This means for every $100 risked on average, you expect to net $35. Positive expectancy over 50+ trades confirms a real edge. EdgeLedger calculates expectancy automatically in your analytics dashboard.

Question 23

What is revenge trading and how do I stop it?

Accepted Answer

Revenge trading is the impulse to immediately re-enter the market after a loss to 'get the money back' — usually with a larger position and weaker setup. It is one of the most common causes of blown trading accounts. To stop it: implement a mandatory 15-minute break rule after any losing trade, set a hard daily loss limit (stop trading when you lose 2% in a day), and use a journal to track how many trades you take within 10 minutes of a loss — most traders are shocked by what the data reveals. EdgeLedger's tilt detection feature automatically flags revenge-trading patterns in your trade sequence.

Question 24

How do I track my performance across multiple exchanges?

Accepted Answer

To track performance across multiple exchanges, you need a centralised trading journal that connects to each exchange via API. EdgeLedger supports simultaneous connections to Binance, Bybit, OKX, Kraken, Coinbase, KuCoin, BitGet, MEXC, Gate.io, and Crypto.com. All trades from all exchanges appear in one unified journal, with a combined analytics dashboard showing overall win rate, profit factor, drawdown, and equity curve across all accounts. You can also filter analytics by exchange to compare performance on each platform individually.

Question 25

Can I use EdgeLedger to track forex prop firm challenges?

Accepted Answer

Yes. EdgeLedger supports forex prop firm challenges via MetaTrader integration. Connect your MT4 or MT5 account using the EdgeLedger Bridge, then create a Prop Firm Challenge in EdgeLedger configured with your firm's rules (FTMO, The5ers, E8 Funding, Hola Prime, FundedNext, or custom). The dashboard shows real-time drawdown tracking, profit target progress, minimum trading days completed, and sends alerts when you approach rule thresholds — all the tools you need to pass a forex challenge with discipline.

Question 26

What is profit factor and what is a good number?

Accepted Answer

Profit factor is the ratio of total gross profit to total gross loss across all your trades. Formula: Total Profit ÷ Total Loss. A profit factor of 1.0 means breakeven. Below 1.0 means net loss. Above 1.0 means net profit. Benchmarks by style: scalping 1.3–1.6, day trading 1.5–2.5, swing trading 2.0–4.0. A profit factor above 1.5 is considered solid for most active trading strategies. Profit factor is more meaningful than win rate alone because it accounts for the size of wins and losses, not just their frequency.

Question 27

Does EdgeLedger have a public leaderboard?

Accepted Answer

Yes. EdgeLedger has a public leaderboard at edge-ledger.io/leaderboard where traders can opt in to display their performance metrics. The leaderboard shows win rate, profit factor, and trading consistency across opted-in users. Participation is entirely voluntary — private traders are not shown on the leaderboard. It serves as a community feature for traders who want external accountability and to benchmark their performance against peers.

Question 28

What is trading tilt and how does EdgeLedger detect it?

Accepted Answer

Trading tilt is an emotional state where losses or frustration cause a trader to abandon their strategy rules and trade impulsively — typically with larger positions, more frequent entries, and weaker setups. EdgeLedger's tilt detection algorithm monitors your trade sequence for behavioral anomalies: position size increases after losses, shortened intervals between trades, win rate dropping below your personal baseline, and loss sequences longer than your historical norm. When these signals cluster, EdgeLedger sends a tilt alert notification prompting you to step back before more damage is done.

Question 29

How does EdgeLedger handle different currencies and international traders?

Accepted Answer

EdgeLedger stores all P&L in USD by default (the common denominator for most crypto and forex instruments) and converts to your local currency using exchange rates for display. The platform supports multi-language UI and is used by traders across Europe, Asia, the Americas, and the Middle East. Tax exports are available for international use and are formatted to include the data most jurisdictions require — though users should consult their local tax professional as EdgeLedger's exports are informational and not jurisdiction-specific tax advice.

Question 30

Can a trading journal realistically improve my P&L?

Accepted Answer

Yes — and the mechanism is well-documented. A structured trading journal improves P&L through four channels: (1) eliminating bad trade types by identifying which setups have negative expectancy and removing them from your plan, (2) reducing tilt-driven losses by making patterns like revenge trading and overtrading visible before they compound, (3) improving execution by tracking and reviewing rule compliance, and (4) confirming which edges are real by providing statistical validation across 50+ trades. Traders who maintain structured journals for 90+ days consistently report measurable improvement in profit factor, usually driven more by loss reduction than win rate improvement.

Question 31

What is the difference between a trading journal and a trading platform?

Accepted Answer

A trading platform (like Binance, MetaTrader, or TradingView) is where you execute trades and analyse charts. A trading journal (like EdgeLedger) is where you record, review, and analyse your past trades to improve future performance. They serve entirely different purposes and should be used together. The trading platform shows you current market conditions; the trading journal shows you your own behavioral patterns and statistical edge. Most traders use TradingView or exchange platforms for analysis and EdgeLedger for performance tracking and review.

Question 32

How do I create a trading plan?

Accepted Answer

A trading plan is a written document that defines: (1) which markets and instruments you trade, (2) your specific entry criteria for each setup type, (3) how you determine stop loss placement, (4) how you determine take profit targets, (5) your position sizing formula (typically % of account per trade), (6) your daily loss limit (maximum loss before stopping for the day), (7) which sessions you trade, and (8) what disqualifies a trade. A trading plan removes in-the-moment decision-making from the equation — if a trade meets the criteria, you take it; if not, you don't. Your journal is where you measure compliance with your plan over time.

Question 33

What is the best way to recover from a trading losing streak?

Accepted Answer

The safest way to recover from a losing streak is: (1) immediately cut your position size to 25–50% of normal, (2) review your last 10–15 losing trades in your journal — look for a common pattern (same setup, same session, same emotional state), (3) paper trade or trade micro-size for 5–10 days to reset your confidence without risking more capital, (4) identify whether the losses were from a strategy failure (the edge is gone) or execution failure (the edge exists but your discipline broke down). Never try to recover losses by increasing size — this turns a managed drawdown into a blown account.

Question 34

How do crypto market cycles affect trading?

Accepted Answer

Crypto markets move through distinct cycles: accumulation (prices bottom, low volatility, smart money buying), uptrend/bull market (rising prices, high retail interest, momentum strategies thrive), distribution (prices top, smart money selling into retail demand), and downtrend/bear market (prices fall, high volatility, mean-reversion and short strategies work better). Different trading strategies perform differently in each phase — breakout and momentum strategies work best in bull markets; mean-reversion and range strategies work better in accumulation and distribution. A trading journal that tags market regime for each trade allows you to measure which of your strategies performs best in each cycle phase.

EdgeLedger — Multi-Asset Trading Journal & Prop Firm Analytics