Contract size, crypto margin and weekend quotes decide how a BTC robot really behaves at your broker. Bitcoin CFDs are not the same everywhere, and an EA tested at one broker can behave very differently at another. All three checks take less than a minute: in Market Watch, right-click BTCUSD and open Specification.
1. Contract size
Most Bitcoin EAs are designed for 1 lot = 1 BTC with prices quoted to 2 decimals. If your broker uses a different contract or number of digits, every dollar figure and every point-based distance in the EA changes. Confirm it matches before you go live.
2. Crypto margin, not account leverage
Your account may say 1:500, but many brokers apply much lower leverage to crypto, often between 1:2 and 1:20. That changes everything. A 0.10 BTC position at $86,000 is worth $8,600. At 1:500 it needs about $17 of margin; at 1:10 it needs $860. For an EA that can open several positions at once, that difference decides whether the next trade opens or fails with "not enough money".
3. Weekend quotes
Bitcoin trades seven days a week, but not every broker quotes it on weekends. If yours closes on Friday, Bitcoin keeps moving, and Monday can open with a gap that jumps straight past your stops. Check the Sessions line in Specification and prefer a broker that trades BTC on Saturday and Sunday.
Bonus: swap
Crypto swaps can be high. If your EA holds positions overnight, check swap long and short in the same window.
An EA built around these checks
Cryvon is a multi-level Bitcoin EA for MT4, designed for 1 lot = 1 BTC on the M5 chart. Its manual walks through all three checks, plus a 30-day plan to go from backtest to demo to a small live account safely.
