SPY Wheel Strategy: backtest results after fees, and how the rule works

SPY Wheel Strategy at a glance

Kind of rule	Trading activity (volume-based)
Buys or sells	It only buys. It does not bet on falling prices.
Built on	EMA, RSI, SMA, VWAP
Where it was published	TradingView, by its author, as a Pine Script strategy
Tested on	53 cells: 11 coins on 6 chart speeds (5m, 15m, 30m, 1h, 4h, 1D), October 2021 to June 2026
Fee in the test	0.12 percent per side, buys only
Middle result after fees, every cell	−0.5%
Cells above zero	14 of 53
Cells that cleared the quality check	5 of 53
Middle drawdown, every cell	11.2%
Page updated	2026-11-08

SPY Wheel Strategy backtest results, every cell

Every cell is in the picture, not only the strongest. To the right of the black line is above zero. The orange line, when you see one, is the middle.

Each dot is one cell, lined up by chart speed. Dots to the right of the black line finished above zero. The orange line is the middle.

Each bar is the middle result for that chart speed. The number in parentheses is how many cells. The black line is zero.

How SPY Wheel Strategy works

Rules in this group usually work like this. It acts when a lot of the coin is changing hands, or when price is on one side of the average price paid (often called VWAP). The idea is that a move with heavy trading behind it is more likely to continue. Crypto volume differs by exchange, so the filter inherits that. The next paragraph is this particular rule, which can be narrower than the group.

It only buys. It does not bet on falling prices. It acts only when several checks agree at once. It leans on EMA, RSI, SMA, VWAP; those names are explained on their own pages, further down. The exact line is in the list below, in the author's names, and you can skip that list. It gets out when another set of checks agrees. That line is in the list below too.

Each trade uses a fixed size of 100. It holds one trade at a time.

The exact condition, from the code

Same rule, translated from the code, in the author's names. You can skip this list if the paragraph above was enough.

Enters long when the previous bar time is below Strategy Start Date (a date) and no position is open.
Enters long when exited and not (the position size is at or above 100) and the close is above the 200-period SMA of the close.
Enters long when not (the position size is at or above 100) and not (exited) and not (reenter bar) and the bar index is above start bar and not (Use CSP re-entry (uncheck = instant re-entry at open) (off)).
Enters long when not (the position size is at or above 100) and not (exited) and not (reenter bar) and the bar index is above start bar and not (not (Use CSP re-entry (uncheck = instant re-entry at open) (off))) and the close is above the 200-period SMA of the close and the close is above the 20-period EMA of the close and g3 RSI and the close on the period timeframe is below VIX Gate Threshold (25) and (the close is at or above ….
Closes the position when the position size is at or above 100 and SMA ct is at or above 200 SMA Breach Days to Exit (3) and not (exited).
Closes the position when the position size is at or above 100 and not (the position size is at or above 100 and SMA ct is at or above 200 SMA Breach Days to Exit (3)) and the close is above (cast float (ceil((the close × (1 + percent)))) when the close on the period timeframe is at or above VIX Gate Threshold (25), else the previous cc str live) and (cast float (ceil((the close × (1 + percent)))) when the close on the period timeframe is at ….

Buys or sells	It only buys. It does not bet on falling prices.
Tools it calculates	EMA, RSI, SMA, VWAP
A second chart speed	Yes. It also looks at a second chart speed.
Only at certain hours	Yes. It only acts during set hours.
Adding to a trade	It holds one trade at a time.
How much it trades	Each trade uses a fixed size of 100.
Cost the author assumed	The author assumed no trading cost.

Default settings

The test used the defaults in the middle column. Nothing was turned to help a coin.

Setting	Default	Group
CC Strike % OTM — Normal VIX	1.25	CC Settings
CC Strike % OTM — High VIX	3	CC Settings
Use CSP re-entry (uncheck = instant re-entry at open)	off	Re-entry Settings
CSP Strike % OTM (only if CSP enabled)	1.5	Re-entry Settings
VIX Gate Threshold	25	Gate Settings
RSI Block Zone — Low	75	Gate Settings
RSI Block Zone — High	85	Gate Settings
Long MA Length (SMA)	200	Gate Settings
Short MA Length (EMA)	20	Gate Settings
RSI Length	14	Gate Settings
Gate 5: VWAP (uncheck = disabled)	off	Gate Settings
200 SMA Breach Days to Exit	3	Emergency Exit
20 EMA Breach Days — Hedge Alert	2	Emergency Exit
Show 20 EMA Hedge Alert	on	Emergency Exit
Block Today — FOMC / CPI / NFP	off	Macro Filter
Strategy Start Date	a date	Backtest

How the backtest was run

Every strategy was tried the same way, on the settings the author published.

The years are October 2021 to June 2026. The prices are from Bybit, for 13 widely traded coins, mostly on hourly, 4-hour and daily charts, with some faster charts. That was 47,242 tries. The window stored in the files is 2021-09..2026-06.

599 rules produced a finished try. A rule that finished above zero on at least 12 cells, before any fee, was tried again with a fee of 0.12 percent per side. Only buys are counted in that second try. 273 rules got it.

The method, the aggregate results and a downloadable table are on the study page. What the desk does with the results beyond these pages is its own.

This is the second pass. A fee of 0.12 percent per side is taken on the buy and again on the sell. Only buys are counted. If the rule also bets on falling prices, those trades are not in these numbers.

After fees, 14 of 53 cells finished above zero (26.4%). The median of every cell was −0.5%.

5 of the cells cleared a quality check: at least 50 trades, gains that are not one lucky trade, and a drawdown that is real without taking the whole account.

Finished above zero by chart speed: 15-minute chart, 15m 0 of 11; daily chart, 1D 5 of 9; hourly chart, 1h 2 of 11; 30-minute chart, 30m 0 of 11; 4-hour chart, 4h 6 of 10; 5-minute chart, 5m 0 of 1.

Cells tried after the fee	53
Finished above zero	14 (26.4%)
Middle result, the median of every cell	−0.5%
Middle drawdown, every cell	11.2%
Cells that cleared the quality check	5
Middle result, over the cells that cleared the quality check	+13.0%
Extra, Calmar on the checked rows. Result divided by the deepest fall	0.20
Extra, Sharpe on the checked rows. Result divided by how bumpy the path was	0.06
Middle drawdown, the checked rows	48.4%
Deepest fall, the checked rows	73.3%
Middle number of trades, the checked rows	153

Label: backtest · old prices, buys only, a fee of 0.12 percent per side, every cell · Oct 2021 – Jun 2026. Hypothetical results; see the risk disclosure.

How to read the result

How to read the number

The median of every cell is the result of the rule. The author's settings were not changed to help any coin. The weakest and the strongest cells are not a result on their own.

What the number leaves out

The table also shows +13.0%, taken only over the cells that cleared the quality check. Cells that finished down are left out of that figure, which is why it stands away from the median of every cell. It describes those rows only.

5 of 53 cells cleared a quality check: at least 50 trades, a profit factor that is not one lucky trade, and a drawdown that is real without taking the whole account. Profit factor means the gains divided by the losses. Clearing the check describes this sample. It says nothing about the next set of years.

The count above is also split by chart speed. A speed that finished higher, in these years, is one slice of the same rule. It is not a separate strategy.

What this does not show

The useful question is which exchange the volume came from. The amount traded is not the same number everywhere.

Nothing on this page was fit to the cell that finished highest. One coin, one chart speed, or one strong stretch is a single row. It is not the rule. Other years, another exchange, or another fee would be a different measurement.

Questions about SPY Wheel Strategy

What is SPY Wheel Strategy?

SPY Wheel Strategy is a volume-based trading strategy published on TradingView as a Pine Script. In plain terms it is a rule of the kind this site calls trading activity. It only buys. It does not bet on falling prices. It is built on EMA, RSI, SMA, VWAP. This page reads the rules from the code and reports what they did on old crypto prices.

How does SPY Wheel Strategy work?

Is SPY Wheel Strategy profitable in a backtest?

In this backtest, more cells lost than gained. After a fee of 0.12 percent per side, 14 of 53 cells finished above zero and the median of every cell was −0.5%. A backtest is a replay on old prices, so it describes these coins and these years, not a future result.

What was the drawdown of SPY Wheel Strategy?

The median drawdown across every cell was 11.2%, and the deepest fall in any cell was 105.8%. Drawdown is the deepest fall from a high point along the way, as a percent of the account at that high. A figure above 100 means the table scaled the fall up, because the open-trade fall went deeper than the closed-trade one; read it as a fall that took the whole account.

Which timeframe suited SPY Wheel Strategy?

Counted by cells above zero: 5-minute (5m) 0 of 1; 15-minute (15m) 0 of 11; 30-minute (30m) 0 of 11; hourly (1h) 2 of 11; 4-hour (4h) 6 of 10; daily (1D) 5 of 9. The 4-hour chart had the largest share above zero in these years. A chart speed that did better here is one slice of the same rule, not a separate strategy.

Where can I find the SPY Wheel Strategy script?

It is published on TradingView by its author. Search TradingView for the title to find the original script. This page is an independent reading and is not affiliated with the author.

What does backtest mean on this page?

Backtest means the rule was replayed on old prices from Bybit. No real money moved. Every number on this page carries that label, and old prices do not promise anything about new ones.

Words used on this page

Backtest: The rule was tried on old prices. No real money moved.
Cell: One coin on one chart speed. Bitcoin every 4 hours is one cell. Bitcoin once a day is another.
Chart speed: How often a new price bar is drawn. 15m means every 15 minutes, 1h means hourly, 4h means every 4 hours, 1D means once a day.
Fee, per side: A cost taken each time the rule trades. Per side means once on the way in and once on the way out.
Median: Line the cells up from the biggest loss to the biggest gain. The median is the middle one. Half the cells did better and half did worse.
Drawdown: The deepest fall from a high point along the way, as a percent of the account at that high.
Above zero: The account finished with more than it started.

The indicators SPY Wheel Strategy uses

Each has its own page: what it measures, how it is read, where it misleads.

"SPY Wheel Strategy" was published on TradingView by its author, under the author's own license. This page is an independent reading of those rules and of what they did on these old prices. It is not written with the author, and it is not a recommendation. Not every detail survives the translation onto this page, so read the original before you rely on it.

SPY Wheel Strategy