The Impossible Coin — Optimisation Settings
The Impossible Coin is a BTCUSD session breakout + momentum continuation EA for the M5 timeframe. Default parameters are genetically optimised through a 4-round pipeline (R0→R3) and work out of the box on any broker offering BTCUSD. This blog covers every parameter, what it does, and the Income preset for consistent daily trading.
For questions or custom .set file requests, leave a comment below or send a private message.
Looking for prop firm settings? See the Coin Prop Firm Settings Guide.
Looking for The Impossible Gold (XAUUSD) settings? See the Gold Optimisation Settings.
⚠️ IMPORTANT
These settings are optimised for personal accounts. For prop firm accounts, use the dedicated Prop Firm Settings Guide — it includes pre-tuned .set files for FTMO and Blue Guardian with appropriate risk, drawdown, and daily loss limits.
- Always test on a demo account for at least 2–4 weeks before running on any live account
- Past performance and backtest results do not guarantee future results
- The developer is not responsible for any losses incurred on funded or personal accounts
Links
Income Preset — TheImpossibleCoin_Income.set
Download: The Income .set file is attached to this blog post. Save it, then load it in MT5 (Inputs tab → Load → browse to file → OK).
The Income preset is designed for personal accounts ($500+) with one goal: constant daily income. It uses a wide 15-hour session window (8-23 GMT), higher trade count, and balanced risk. This is the recommended starting point for most users.
Design philosophy:
- Wide session (8-23 GMT) covers London open through late US — maximises trade opportunities
- 2.0% risk — meaningful on small capital, survivable drawdowns
- Trailing 60/10 — the R3-proven optimal configuration (60 points trigger, 10-point steps)
- Shield ON at 75% — locks in profit on good days, lifts next morning
- PropFirm OFF — no zone restrictions on personal accounts
- 8 trades/day cap — constant activity without overtrading
Default Parameters — Complete Reference
All v1.53 defaults listed below. The Income .set file uses these exact values. The scoring engine uses four independent components (ADX, EMA, ATR, RSI) shared with The Impossible Gold architecture.
Strategy
| Parameter | Income | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Timeframe | M5 | 5-minute chart. Optimised for Bitcoin's intraday volatility. |
| LookbackBars | 30 | Bars to define breakout range. 30 = 2.5 hours of consolidation. |
| BufferPips | 95.0 | Points above/below range before triggering entry. Wider than Gold due to BTC volatility. |
| MinRangePips | 100.0 | Minimum range size in points. Below 100 is noise on BTC. |
| MaxRangePips | 3000.0 | Maximum range size. Above 3000 = trending, not consolidating. |
| MinScoreToTrade | 80 | Confidence threshold (0-100). R1 proven — do not lower below 80. |
| MaxHoldBars | 0 | 0 = no time limit on open trades. |
| CooldownBars | 0 | Bars wait after a trade closes. 0 = immediate re-entry allowed. |
Momentum Continuation
| Parameter | Income | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| MC_Enabled | true | Second strategy — catches pullbacks in established trends. |
| MC_EMA_Fast | 13 | Fast EMA for crossover signal. |
| MC_EMA_Slow | 21 | Slow EMA for trend direction. |
| MC_PullbackPips | 80.0 | Maximum pullback distance from fast EMA to enter. |
| MC_MinADX | 25 | Minimum ADX for trend confirmation. |
| MC_ATRMultiplier | 1.8 | ATR-normalised entry distance multiplier. |
| MC_TP_Pips | 200 | Momentum continuation take profit (points). |
| MC_SL_Pips | 100 | Momentum continuation stop loss (points). |
Session Filter
| Parameter | Income | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| SessionStart | 8 GMT | London open. Wide window for maximum opportunities. |
| SessionEnd | 23 GMT | Late US session. 15 hours of trading vs 9 hours on prop presets. |
| ExcludeStart / End | 0 / 0 | No exclusion zone. BTC trades 24/7 — no lunch gap like Gold. |
| BlockMonday–Sunday | all false | All days active. BTC has no clear day-of-week bias in optimisation. |
Risk and Trade Management
| Parameter | Income | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| RiskPerTrade | 2.0% | Balanced for $500+ accounts. Each loss = 2% of equity. |
| CompoundAggressive | false | Uses starting balance for lot sizing. Prevents runaway sizing after wins. |
| FixedLots | 0.0 | 0 = percentage-based sizing (recommended). |
| MinLotSize | 0.01 | Minimum lot. Check your broker's minimum for BTCUSD. |
| MaxLotSize | 10.0 | Safety clamp. |
| MagicNumber | 556677 | Unique ID for this EA's trades. Change if running multiple EAs. |
TP & SL
The 150/200 (TP/SL) ratio is intentionally inverted. The EA wins ~90% of trades, so each win doesn't need to be larger than each loss — it needs to win often enough. The wider SL gives Bitcoin room to breathe through its natural volatility without getting stopped out on noise.
| Parameter | Income | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| TP_Pips | 150 | 150 points on BTC. Three outcomes: full TP, trailing exit, or full SL. |
| SL_Pips | 200 | 200 points on BTC. At 2% risk, each loss = exactly 2% of equity. |
| MaxSpread | 100.0 | Won't trade if spread > 100 points. Protects against illiquid periods. |
Trailing Stop & Partial Close
The trailing stop is the EA's core edge. The 60/10 configuration emerged as dominant across 170 optimisation passes with 91% profitability. Once price moves 60 points past entry, the SL follows in 10-point steps. Partial close takes 50% off the table at the first trail trigger, and the remainder runs with a 2x widened stop.
| Parameter | Income | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| UseBreakeven | false | Trailing stop handles profit protection. |
| UseTrailingStop | true | Primary profit lock mechanism. R3 optimised. |
| TrailingStart | 60 | Starts trailing after 60 points profit. DO NOT CHANGE — R3 locked optimal. |
| TrailingStep | 10 | SL trails 10 points behind price. Tight steps lock profit quickly. |
| UsePartialClose | true | Closes 50% at first trail trigger, remainder trails with wider stop. |
| PartialClosePct | 50.0 | Percentage to close at first trail trigger. |
| RemainderTrailMult | 2.0 | Remaining position uses 2x trail step (20 points) for more room. |
Protection
| Parameter | Income | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| MaxDrawdown | 15.0% | Emergency stop. Permanent shutdown at 15% DD. Personal accounts have more room. |
| MaxDailyLoss | 5.0% | Stops trading for the day at 5% daily loss. |
| MaxOpenTrades | 1 | One position at a time. No stacking. |
| MaxTradesPerDay | 8 | Wide session + high cap = constant daily activity. |
| MaxConsecLosses | 3 | Pauses after 3 consecutive losses. Worst case = 3 × 2% = 6% daily DD. |
News Filter
| Parameter | Income | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| EnableNewsFilter | true | Uses MT5 Economic Calendar. Pauses around high-impact USD events. |
| NewsMinutesBefore | 30 | Blocks trades 30 minutes before events. |
| NewsMinutesAfter | 15 | Blocks trades 15 minutes after events. |
Shield Circuit Breaker
The Shield locks in gains. Arms after the EA makes profit, then stops trading if you start giving it back. Next morning it lifts and the EA resumes.
| Parameter | Income | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| EnableShield | true | Monitors equity peak. Stops trading when DD from peak exceeds trigger. |
| ShieldArmPct | 75.0% | Shield arms after (Risk/7) × 75% profit achieved. At 2% risk, needs ~21% gain to arm. |
| ShieldDrawdownPct | 10.0% | Triggers at 10% DD from equity peak. |
| ShieldRecovery | 1 | Lifts next trading day. 0=permanent, 1=next day, 2=recovery-based. |
Regime Filter (Weekly Chart)
| Parameter | Income | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| EnableRegimeFilter | true | Monitors weekly EMA slope. Blocks entries when BTC has no clear trend. |
| RegimeEMAPeriod | 50 | 50-period weekly EMA (~1 year of weekly data). |
| RegimeLookback | 4 | Slope measured over 4 weekly bars (~1 month). |
| RegimeMinSlope | 0.05% | Below ±0.05% = FLAT market. Lower than Gold (0.30%) because BTC trends more clearly. |
| BlockCounterTrend | false | Trades both directions. Set true for max safety at cost of fewer signals. |
Direction Exclusions & Display
| Parameter | Income | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Buy/Sell Exclude zones | all 0 | No hour-based direction blocks. BTC has no consistent directional hour bias. |
| ShowDashboard | true | Real-time on-chart dashboard with scores, regime, Shield status. |
| ShowChartExtras | true | EMA lines and trend labels on chart. |
| DebugMode | false | Enable temporarily for troubleshooting. |
Backtest Results — Income Preset
3.5-Month Backtest (Jan–Apr 2026, $100K, 2.5% Risk)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Return | +3.0% ($100,000 → $103,031) |
| Total Trades | 326 (~93/month) |
| Win Rate | 89.9% |
| Profit Factor | 1.09 |
| Max Drawdown | 6.6% |
| Avg Win / Avg Loss | $127 / $1,036 (R:R ~1:8) |
In-Sample (Full 2025, $1K, 1.5% Risk)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Return | +190.8% ($1,000 → $2,908) |
| Total Trades | 762 |
| Win Rate | 71.8% |
| Profit Factor | 1.43 |
| Max Drawdown | 17.2% |
Forward Test (2026 Q1, $1K, 1.5% Risk)
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Return | +41.0% ($1,000 → $1,410) |
| Total Trades | 180 |
| Win Rate | 74.4% |
| Profit Factor | 1.50 |
| Max Drawdown | 5.7% |
What to Expect
- ~90% win rate — 9 out of 10 trades close in profit
- Frequent small wins — consistent daily income from high trade count
- Occasional larger losses — R:R is inverted (~1:8), each loss equals ~8 wins. The high win rate compensates.
- ~130-160 trades/month on the Income preset (wider session = more opportunities)
- Self-correcting — risk-based sizing shrinks lots during drawdowns automatically
Optimisation Tips
If you want to run your own optimisation:
- Use MT5 Strategy Tester, genetic optimisation, BTCUSD M5
- Every Tick or OHLC on M1 over 12+ months of data
- Key parameters to optimise: TP_Pips, SL_Pips, TrailingStart, TrailingStep, SessionStart, SessionEnd, MinScoreToTrade, day blocking
- Do NOT change: LookbackBars (30), BufferPips (95), MinRangePips (100), MaxRangePips (3000) — these are locked from R0 baseline and form the breakout detection core
- Forward-test on a separate time period (e.g., optimise on 2024-2025, forward-test on 2026 Q1)
How to Load a Set File
- Download TheImpossibleCoin_Income.set attached to this blog post
- Open MT5 and attach the EA to a BTCUSD M5 chart
- In the EA inputs tab, click Load and browse to the downloaded file
- Click OK — all parameters are applied
To return to defaults at any time, click Reset in the inputs tab.
Version History
| Date | Version | Changes |
|---|---|---|
| Apr 2026 | v1.53 (current) | PropFirm 4-zone system, partial close, Discord alerts with recovered stats, 4 preset .set files. Trailing 60/10 locked from R3 composite sweep. |
| Apr 2026 | v1.51 | Regime detection, Shield circuit breaker, news filter. R3 composite optimisation. |
| Mar 2026 | v1.50 | Momentum continuation strategy added. R2 calibration pass. |
| Feb 2026 | v1.40 | Flash crash filter. R1 session sweep. |
| Jan 2026 | v1.00 | Initial release. Session breakout on BTCUSD M5 with 4-component scoring. |
Past performance does not guarantee future results. Trading Bitcoin involves significant risk. Only trade with capital you can afford to lose.
