Description
Goldfinch EA is the newest iteration of a proven scalper first released nearly ten years ago. It is designed to exploit price inertia after sudden price accelerations, commonly known as volatility spikes. By detecting sharp price movements within a defined time window, the EA opens trades expecting continued momentum. This version has been simplified to enable traders to perform effective parameter optimization using MetaTrader’s built-in tester.
Key Features
- Detects sudden price movements and capitalizes on short-term inertia
- Simple and optimized input structure for easy backtesting and tuning
- Customizable break-even, trailing, SL and TP controls
- Adjustable trading hours and weekday filters
- Built-in money management with fixed or auto lot sizing
- Fully compliant with NFA/FIFO regulations if needed
- Designed for low-latency, tight-spread environments
Backtesting Guidelines
- Backtest in "Every Tick" mode only**
- The EA uses only tick data; it does not rely on OHLC data
- The timeframe is irrelevant for its internal logic
- Run cloud optimizations per symbol for best performance
Important Notes on Tick Scalping
Scalping on ticks is inherently risky. Results can be negatively impacted by:
- Variable spreads and slippage reducing positive expectancy
- Low tick density causing missed or false trades
- Stop level constraints limiting execution control
- Network latency and requotes causing entry/exit errors
- Always test with realistic broker conditions and deploy cautiously.
Input Parameters
- Trigger – Price movement needed to fire a trade, in pips. Default: 10
- Min Time Window – Minimum time for the price movement to occur, in seconds. Default: 3
- Max Time Window – Maximum time for the price movement to occur, in seconds. Default: 10
These three inputs together define the trade trigger condition: "If price moves X pips in between Y and Z seconds, open a trade." - Breakeven – Pips in profit required to trigger breakeven. 0 disables the feature
- Breakeven Behavior – Choose one: (a) Move stop-loss to the open price or (b) Secure half of the profits by adjusting SL accordingly
- Trailing Stop – Trailing stop in percentage of the trade profit at the time
- Trailing Step – Minimum increment (in pips) to modify SL in a trailing setup
- Stop Loss – Hard stop loss in pips (required)
- Take Profit – Target profit in pips. 0 disables TP
- Trading Hours – Define start and end hours for trading (24h format)
- Weekday Settings – Enable or disable trading on specific weekdays
- Money Management Behavior – Choose one: (a) Auto-calculate lot size per trade based on risk or (b) Use a manual lot size
- Risk Per Trade – If auto-lot is selected, risk per trade as % of account balance
- Manual Lot Size – If manual lot is selected, fixed lot size to use
- NFA/FIFO Compliant – Enable this to comply with U.S. FIFO rules
- Custom Comment – Enter a string to label the trades made by the EA
- Magic Number – Identifier to tag and distinguish the EA's trades
- Slippage – Maximum allowable slippage in points (1 pip = 10 points)
- Manual Pip Value – Override pip value for current symbol if broker requires it
