Copy trading: how it works and where it can go wrong

What a copy does

You choose a trader and an amount (the allocation). From then on, every time the trader opens, adds to, reduces or closes a position, Orbafin places the same trade in your account within seconds, sized so that the trader's position relative to their account matches yours relative to your allocation. When they close, you close.

Each copy keeps its own book of the trades it made. Two copies that hold the same coin never close each other's trades, and trades you place yourself are never touched.

Sizing: your amount, their proportions

If a trader with a $1,000,000 account opens a $50,000 position (5% of their account) and your allocation is $1,000, your copy opens a $50 position. Hyperliquid's $10 minimum means very small shares of a trader's account cannot be copied; Orbafin skips those and tells you.

You can cap the leverage a copy may use and choose whether to copy the trader's positions that were already open when you started.

What is not copied

Spot trades, vault deposits, transfers and anything on other exchanges are not copied; only perpetual positions on Hyperliquid are. Orders that rest in the book (limits, take profits) are copied when they fill, not when they are placed.

The risks, plainly

• The trader can lose. Past profit is no promise; a trader who made 40% last month can lose 40% this month.
• Delay and slippage: your trade fills seconds after theirs and sometimes at a worse price, especially on small coins and in fast markets. Over many trades this costs a little.
• Leverage: copies inherit the trader's leverage up to your cap. The safety stop limits the damage but cannot stop a gap.
• Mixing: your copies and your own trades share one account. Trading a coin that a running copy also trades makes the two sizes show as one position; prefer different coins.
• Hyperliquid itself: an outage or a stuck market affects every account on it, including yours.

Only copy with money you can afford to lose, start small, and read the safety stop guide before raising the amount.