Turtle Swing v2.0 strategy: backtest results after fees, and how the rule works

Turtle Swing v2.0 at a glance

Kind of rule	Breakout
Buys or sells	It only buys. It does not bet on falling prices.
Built on	ATR, Donchian Channels, EMA, RSI, SMA
Where it was published	TradingView, by its author, as a Pine Script strategy
Tested on	65 cells: 13 coins on 5 chart speeds (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	−48.3%
Cells above zero	17 of 65
Cells that cleared the quality check	12 of 65
Middle drawdown, every cell	59.5%
Page updated	2026-11-08

Turtle Swing v2.0 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 coin, across its chart speeds. The black line is zero.

How Turtle Swing v2.0 works

Rules in this group usually work like this. It buys when price pokes above a recent high, and it bets on a fall when price pokes under a recent low. It is wrong often. It pays for those false starts with the few times price keeps going. How far back it looks decides how many pokes it takes. 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 ATR, EMA, RSI, SMA; 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. When it enters, it also sets a stop or a target, so a trade can close without a new signal.

Each trade uses a fixed size of 1. It can stack up to 4 trades in the same direction.

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 (Active System (Both) equals 'System 1 (20-Day)' or Active System (Both) equals 'Both') and the close is above the previous highest high of the last 20 bars and (the close is above ema50 when Use EMA Trend Filter (on), else on) and volume ok and RSI ok and (not (last trade profit is above 0) when S1 Whipsaw Filter (on), else on) and no position is open.
Enters long when (Active System (Both) equals 'System 2 (55-Day)' or Active System (Both) equals 'Both') and the close is above the previous highest high of the last 55 bars and (the close is above ema50 when Use EMA Trend Filter (on), else on) and volume ok and RSI ok and no position is open.
Enters long when a long position is open and (EMA rising when EMA Slope Guard (Pyramid only) (on), else on) and the close is at or above (the average entry price + (((pyramid count + 1) + 1) × (Pyramid Step (½N) (0.5) × the 20-period ATR))) and (((pyramid count + 1) + 1) + 1) is below 4.
On entry, places a stop at (the close − (Stop Loss Multiplier (1.5) × the 20-period ATR)).
On entry, places a stop at (the close − (Stop Loss Multiplier (1.5) × the 20-period ATR)).
Places a stop at the lowest low of the last 10 bars when (Active System (Both) equals 'System 1 (20-Day)' or Active System (Both) equals 'Both') and a long position is open.
Places a stop at the lowest low of the last 15 bars when (Active System (Both) equals 'System 2 (55-Day)' or Active System (Both) equals 'Both') and a long position is open.

Buys or sells	It only buys. It does not bet on falling prices.
Tools it calculates	ATR, Donchian Channels, EMA, RSI, SMA
A second chart speed	No. It uses one chart speed only.
Only at certain hours	No.
Adding to a trade	It can stack up to 4 trades in the same direction.
How much it trades	Each trade uses a fixed size of 1.
Cost the author assumed	The author assumed a trading cost of 0.1 percent per side.

Default settings

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

Setting	Default	Group
Active System	Both
S1 Entry Breakout (days)	20
S1 Exit Channel (days)	10
S2 Entry Breakout (days)	55
S2 Exit Channel (days)	15
ATR Period (N)	20
Stop Loss Multiplier	1.5
Pyramid Step (½N)	0.5
Risk % per Unit	1
Portfolio Value (₹)	3000000
Use EMA Trend Filter	on
EMA Period	50
EMA Slope Guard (Pyramid only)	on
EMA Slope Lookback (bars)	5
RSI Momentum Filter	on
RSI Period	14
RSI Min Threshold	52
Volume Confirmation	on
Min Volume vs 20d Avg	1
S1 Whipsaw Filter	on
Show System 1 Channel	on
Show System 2 Channel	on
Show ATR Stop Level	on
Show Entry Labels	on

and 2 more settings, left at the author's defaults.

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, 17 of 65 cells finished above zero (26.2%). The median of every cell was −48.3%.

12 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 13; daily chart, 1D 10 of 13; hourly chart, 1h 2 of 13; 30-minute chart, 30m 0 of 13; 4-hour chart, 4h 5 of 13.

Cells tried after the fee	65
Finished above zero	17 (26.2%)
Middle result, the median of every cell	−48.3%
Middle drawdown, every cell	59.5%
Cells that cleared the quality check	12
Middle result, over the cells that cleared the quality check	+32.4%
Extra, Calmar on the checked rows. Result divided by the deepest fall	1.04
Extra, Sharpe on the checked rows. Result divided by how bumpy the path was	0.14
Middle drawdown, the checked rows	30.3%
Deepest fall, the checked rows	79.7%
Middle number of trades, the checked rows	78

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 +32.4%, 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.

12 of 65 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 what the false starts cost. Count the trades, not the one that kept going.

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 Turtle Swing v2.0

What is Turtle Swing v2.0?

Turtle Swing v2.0 is a breakout trading strategy published on TradingView as a Pine Script. It only buys. It does not bet on falling prices. It is built on ATR, Donchian Channels, EMA, RSI, SMA. This page reads the rules from the code and reports what they did on old crypto prices.

How does Turtle Swing v2.0 work?

Is Turtle Swing v2.0 profitable in a backtest?

In this backtest, more cells lost than gained. After a fee of 0.12 percent per side, 17 of 65 cells finished above zero and the median of every cell was −48.3%. 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 Turtle Swing v2.0?

The median drawdown across every cell was 59.5%, and the deepest fall in any cell was 104.2%. 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 Turtle Swing v2.0?

Counted by cells above zero: 15-minute (15m) 0 of 13; 30-minute (30m) 0 of 13; hourly (1h) 2 of 13; 4-hour (4h) 5 of 13; daily (1D) 10 of 13. The daily 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 Turtle Swing v2.0 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 Turtle Swing v2.0 uses

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

"Turtle Swing v2.0" 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.

Turtle Swing v2.0