getting-started

Reading the Top Traders leaderboard (5 categories without falling for ROI bait)

Use Sharpe + Drawdown as primary filters, not Return

15 min · beginner

What you'll have when finished

  • Know the 5 leaderboard categories and what each filters for
  • Be able to spot a high-ROI / high-DD trader and skip them
  • Have opted into the leaderboard yourself (if interested)

Before you start

  • Return category ranks raw 30d ROI — a +200% / -80% DD trader appears at #1 in Return but is gambling, not trading
  • Tier badges reflect SUBSCRIPTION scale, not skill — Elite tier trader with low Sharpe is still a low-Sharpe trader
  • 30-day window means rankings shift weekly — do not over-anchor to one snapshot

Walkthrough

  1. Open Top Traders + start on Return category

    Discover → Top Traders. Default lands on the Return category — the raw 30d ROI leaderboard. Read the top 3 podium positions. Note their ROI numbers.

    Success criteria: You can name the top 3 Return-category traders and their ROI numbers

  2. Switch to Drawdown category

    Click the Drawdown category tab. Leaderboard reorders. The top 3 here are the traders with the LOWEST max DD over the 30-day window — they SURVIVED the deepest. Are any of the Return top 3 also in the Drawdown top 10? If yes, they are genuinely strong. If no, the Return leaders are taking on more risk to chase ROI.

    Success criteria: You can articulate whether your Return top 3 also appear in Drawdown top 10

  3. Switch to Sharpe category — your primary filter

    Click Sharpe. This is the cleanest risk-adjusted ranking. Sharpe > 2.0 = excellent. Sharpe > 1.0 = solid. Below 0.5 = barely beating noise regardless of ROI. The top 5 here are usually the most sustainable performers.

    Success criteria: You can name the top 5 Sharpe traders

  4. Check Win Rate + Volume for context

    Win Rate ranks by % profitable trades — high win rate (>65%) is good but not sufficient (one big loss can wipe it out). Volume ranks by total notional — useful to see who is trading at scale, not just by ratio.

    Success criteria: You have skimmed both Win Rate and Volume leaderboards

  5. Read the aggregate stats card for context

    Aggregate stats card shows cohort-wide median values. If median ROI is +5% and the leaderboard #1 is +200%, that #1 is exceptional, not typical. This context prevents anchoring on outliers.

    Success criteria: You know the median ROI / win rate / max DD for the current cohort

  6. Open a top trader's profile + check trade count

    Click any top trader to see their public profile. CRITICAL: check the TRADE COUNT. A leader with 12 trades is statistical luck; a leader with 500 trades is consistency. Skip anyone with < 100 trades regardless of category ranking.

    Success criteria: You have one shortlisted trader with > 100 trades AND Sharpe > 1.0

  7. Opt yourself in (optional)

    My Status panel on the right side. Toggle Opt In + set a Display Name. Once enabled, your aggregated metrics appear on the leaderboard. Your wallet identity, exchange identity, and individual fills stay private — only the public metrics + display name are exposed.

    Success criteria: You have either opted in OR consciously chosen to stay opted out

What's next

You have a shortlist of 1-3 genuinely strong traders by Sharpe + Drawdown + trade count. Next: cross-reference with Copy Trading to see if any of them have published their bots — if yes, follow them via the workflow in [[copy-trading-first-follow]]. If not, watch their public profiles for verified calls and learn from their methodology.