Four signal types you'll see in CSAPP and which one fits your trading style. Long vs short, spot vs leveraged.

Not every CSAPP signal fits every trader. Scalp setups need active screen time; swing setups need patience. Spot trades are simpler but cap returns; futures multiply both gains and losses. This article maps the four axes a signal lives on so you can filter for the trades that match your reality.

The two big axes

Every signal is tagged on two independent axes:

Time horizon — Scalp (minutes-hours) or Swing (days-weeks).
Market — Spot (cash) or Futures (leveraged derivatives).

That's 2 × 2 = four combinations. Plus on futures, you also pick a direction (Long or Short). On spot, you only buy.

Scalp vs Swing

Scalp signals

Short-term trades, typically held minutes to hours. Tight stops, smaller targets, higher trade frequency.

Time at chart: Active. You need to be at the screen during the entry window.
Number of trades: Higher — multiple per day.
Per-trade gain: Smaller (1–3% typical).
Stop distance: Tight (0.5–2% from entry).
Best for: Day traders, screen time available, OK with high mental load.

Swing signals

Multi-day to multi-week trades. Wider stops, larger targets, lower trade frequency.

Time at chart: Passive. Once entered, check once or twice a day.
Number of trades: Lower — a few per week.
Per-trade gain: Larger (5–25% typical).
Stop distance: Wider (3–10% from entry).
Best for: Busy people, traders with day jobs, anyone who can't sit at a screen.

Spot vs Futures

Spot

You buy the actual asset (BTC, ETH, etc.). No leverage. If price doubles, you make 100%; if it halves, you lose 50% — and you cannot lose more than you put in.

Risk floor: Your loss is capped at the trade size. No liquidation.
Direction: Long only (in most cases). You profit only if price goes up.
Fees: Spot taker fees are typically higher (~0.10% per side on Binance) than futures.
Best for: Beginners, long-term holders, traders who want simple risk math.

Futures

You trade a derivative contract. You can use leverage (e.g., 5×, 10×), which means a 10% price move becomes a 50% or 100% account move — both directions.

Risk floor: Liquidation. If margin runs out, position auto-closes. You can lose 100% of margin.
Direction: Long or Short. You can profit when price goes up or down.
Fees: Lower per side (~0.04% taker on Binance Futures) and funding rates apply.
Best for: Experienced traders who size correctly and respect liquidation distance.

Long vs Short (Futures only)

On futures, every trade has a direction:

LONG

You profit if price goes up. "Buy low, sell high."

Open a long → buy contracts at current price
Close (or hit TP) at higher price → profit
Hit stop (lower) → loss

SHORT

You profit if price goes down. "Sell high, buy back low."

Open a short → "sell" contracts at current price (borrowed in spirit)
Close (or hit TP) at lower price → profit
Hit stop (higher) → loss

Shorting is conceptually identical to longing — same risk math, same RR math, same stops. The only difference is which direction is "with you" and which is "against you."

Why short matters

Crypto markets crash hard and frequently. A trader who only longs is unprofitable during 50% of every cycle. Adding short skills (which CSAPP signals enable) means you can extract returns during downtrends too.

Reading the tags on a signal

A signal card shows two or three tags right at the top:

BTC/USDT · FUTURES · LONG · MEDIUM RISK

FUTURES — leveraged, can short.
LONG — trade direction (only on futures signals).
MEDIUM RISK — analyst-set confidence; informs position sizing.

For spot:

ETH/USDT · SPOT · MEDIUM RISK

No direction shown because spot is implicitly long.

Filtering for your style

The CSAPP app lets you filter the signal feed by:

Market type (Spot only, Futures only, Both)
Direction (Long only, Short only, Both — futures)
Risk level (Low, Medium, High)
Time horizon (Scalp, Swing — separate feeds)

A common starting filter: Swing + Spot + Low-Medium Risk + Long only. That's the safest combination — wider time horizon, no leverage, conservative setups, only buying.

As you gain experience, you can expand into futures, short trades, and scalping — but only when you've internalized Position Sizing and Risk Management.

Common mistakes

Taking high-risk scalps on a phone during work. Scalps need full attention. If you can't watch the chart, take swings only.
Using full account leverage as default. Always size by stop distance, not by margin.
Treating spot as risk-free. Spot has no liquidation but a 50% drawdown is still a 50% drawdown.
Avoiding shorts. You leave half of every cycle on the table.

In CSAPP

Filter signals using the Scalp / Swing tab toggle, the Market type filter (Spot/Futures), the Direction filter (Long/Short), and the Risk level filter (Low/Medium/High). The "Active" tab inside Signals shows only signals currently in their entry zone — that's where you focus.

Signal Types — Scalp, Swing, Spot, Futures