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Pure Market Making

How it Works

In the pure market making strategy, Hummingbot continually posts limit bid and ask offers on a market and waits for other market participants ("takers") to fill their orders.

Users can specify how far away ("spreads") from the mid price the bid and asks are, the order quantity, and how often prices should be updated (order cancels + new orders posted).

Warning

Please exercise caution while running this strategy and set appropriate kill switch rate. The current version of this strategy is intended to be a basic template that users can test and customize. Running the strategy with substantial capital without additional modifications may result in losses.

Schematic

The diagram below illustrates how market making works. Hummingbot makes a market by placing buy and sell orders on a single exchange, specifying prices and sizes.

Figure 1: Hummingbot makes a market on an exchange

Prerequisites

Inventory

1. You will need to hold sufficient inventory of quote and/or base currencies on the exchange to place orders of the exchange's minimum order size.
2. You will also need some ETH to pay gas for transactions on a decentralized exchange (if applicable).

Minimum Order Size

When placing orders, if the size of the order determined by the order price and quantity is below the exchange's minimum order size, then the orders will not be created.

Example:

bid order amount * bid price < exchange's minimum order size
ask order amount * ask price > exchange's minimum order size

Only a sell order will be created but no buy order.

When using the multiple order mode, this may result in some (or none) of the orders being placed on one side.

Example:

bid order amount 1 * bid price 1 < exchange's minimum order size
bid order amount 2 * bid price 2 > exchange's minimum order size

Only the 2^nd buy order will be created.

Basic Mode

When creating a new strategy or executing config command, the following walks you through all the steps for configuring the basic parameters required to run the strategy.

Configuration Walkthrough

Tip: Autocomplete inputs during configuration

When going through the command line config process, pressing <TAB> at a prompt will display valid available inputs.

Prompt	Description
What is your market making strategy >>>	Enter pure_market_making.
Import previous configs or create a new config file? (import/create) >>>	Enter create to create a new config file. Enter import to specify the existing config file name you want to use.
Enter your maker exchange name >>>	The exchange where the bot will place bid and ask orders. Currently available options: binance, radar_relay, coinbase_pro, ddex, idex, bamboo_relay, huobi, bittrex, dolomite, liquid (case sensitive)
Enter the token symbol you would like to trade on [exchange name] >>>	Enter the token symbol for the maker exchange. Example input: ETH-USD
How far away from the mid price do you want to place the first bid order? (Enter 0.01 to indicate 1%) >>>	This sets bid_place_threshold (definition).
How far away from the mid price do you want to place the first ask order? (Enter 0.01 to indicate 1%) >>>	This sets ask_place_threshold (definition).
How often do you want to cancel and replace bids and asks (in seconds)? >>>	This sets the cancel_order_wait_time (definition).
What is your preferred quantity per order? (Denominated in the base asset) >>>	This sets order_amount (definition).

Advanced Mode

Responding Yes to this question will walk you through in setting up the advanced parameters for this strategy. Responding No will leave the advanced parameters to their default values.

Would you like to proceed with advanced configuration? (Yes/No) >>>

When the strategy is already running, run command config advanced_mode. This will stop the strategy and walk you through in reconfiguring all the advanced parameters.

Configuration Walkthrough

The following walks through all the steps when running config for the first time.

Tip: Autocomplete inputs during configuration

When going through the command line config process, pressing <TAB> at a prompt will display valid available inputs.

Prompt	Description
Enter quantity of bid/ask orders per side (single/multiple) >>>	Enter single to place only 1 order per side (i.e. 1 bid and 1 ask) Enter multiple to place multiple orders on each side. Multiple order also allows you to set different prices and sizes on each side. See additional configuration for multiple orders.
Would you like to enable inventory skew? (Yes/No) >>>	More information in Inventory-Based Dynamic Order Sizing section.
How long do you want to wait before placing the next order if your order gets filled (in seconds)? >>>	More information in Order Replenish Time section.
Do you want to enable hanging orders? (Yes/No) >>>	More information in "Hanging Orders" section.
Do you want to enable best bid ask jumping? (Yes/No) >>>	More information in Best Bid Ask Jumping section.
Do you want to add transaction costs automatically to order prices? (Yes/No) >>>	More information in Adding Transaction Costs to Prices section.
Would you like to use an external pricing source for mid-market price? (Yes/No) >>>	More information in External Pricing Source Configuration section.

Multiple Order Configuration

Multiple orders allow you to create multiple orders for each bid and ask side, e.g. multiple bid orders with different prices and different sizes.

Prompt	Description
How many orders do you want to place on both sides? >>>	This sets number_of_orders (definition).
What is the size of the first bid and ask order? >>>	This sets order_start_size (definition).
How much do you want to increase the order size for each additional order? >>>	This sets order_step_size (definition).
Enter the price increments (as percentage) for subsequent orders? (Enter 0.01 to indicate 1%) >>>	This sets order_interval_percent (definition).

Order Interval Percent

Setting order_interval_percent to a very low number may cause multiple orders to be placed on the same price level. For example for an asset like SNM/BTC, if you set an order interval percent of 0.004 (~0.4%) because of low asset value the price of the next order will be rounded to the nearest price supported by the exchange, which in this case might lead to multiple orders being placed at the same price level.

Inventory-Based Dynamic Order Sizing

This function allows you to specify a target base-to-quote asset inventory ratio and adjust order sizes whenever the current portfolio ratio deviates from this target.

For example, if you are targeting a 50/50 base to quote asset ratio but the current value of your base asset accounts for more than 50% of the value of your inventory, then bid order amount (buy base asset) is decreased, while ask order amount (sell base asset) is increased.

Prompt	Description
Would you like to enable inventory skew? (Yes/No) >>>	This sets inventory_skew_enabled (definition).
What is your target base asset inventory percentage? (Enter 0.01 to indicate 1%) >>>	This sets inventory_target_base_percent (definition).

How order size is calculated

The input order_amount is adjusted by the ratio of current base (or quote) percentage versus target percentage:

Here's an inventory skew calculator you can use that shows how your order sizes are adjusted.

Order Replenish Time

By default, Hummingbot places orders as soon as there are no active orders; i.e., Hummingbot immediately places a new order to replace a filled order. If there is a sustained movement in the market in any one direction for some time, there is a risk of continued trading in that direction: For example, continuing to buy and accumulate base tokens in the case of a prolonged downward move or continuing to sell in the case of a prolonged upward move.

The filled_order_replenish_wait_time parameter allows for a delay when placing a new order in the event of an order being filled, which will help mitigate the above scenarios.

Example:

If you have a buy order that is filled at 1:00:00 and the delay is set as 10 seconds, the next orders placed will be at 1:00:10. The sell order is also cancelled within this delay period and placed at 1:00:10 to ensure that both buy and sell orders stay in sync.

Prompt	Description
How long do you want to wait before placing the next order if your order gets filled (in seconds)? >>>	This sets filled_order_replenish_wait_time (definition).

"Hanging" Orders

Typically, orders are placed as pairs e.g. 1 buy order + 1 sell order in single order mode. There is now an option using enable_order_filled_stop_cancellation to leave the orders on the other side hanging (not cancelled) whenever one side (buy or sell) is filled.

Example:

Assume you are running pure market making in single order mode, the order size is 1 and the mid price is 100. Then:

• Based on bid and ask thresholds of 0.01, your bid/ask orders would be placed at 99 and 101, respectively.
• Your current bid at 99 is fully filled, i.e. someone takes your order and you buy 1.
• By default, after the cancel_order_wait_time, the ask order at 101 would be cancelled.
• With the enable_order_filled_stop_cancellation parameter:
  • the original 101 ask order stays outstanding
  • after the cancel_order_wait_time, a new pair of bid and ask orders are created, resulting in a total of 1 bid order and 2 ask orders (original and new). The original ask order stays outstanding until that is filled or manually cancelled.

The enable_order_filled_stop_cancellation can be used if there is enough volatility such that the hanging order might eventually get filled. It should also be used with caution, as the user should monitor the bot regularly to manually cancel orders which don't get filled. It is recommended to disable inventory skew while running this feature.

Tested only on single trading mode

Since the "hanging orders" feature is experimental, it has only been tested in single order mode and receiving further feedback from the community.

Prompt	Description
Do you want to enable hanging orders? (Yes/No) >>>	This sets enable_order_filled_stop_cancellation (definition).

Best Bid Ask Jumping

Users now have the option to automatically adjust the prices to just above top bid and just below top ask using best_bid_ask_jump_mode available in single order mode. It can also be specified how deep to go into the orderbook for calculating the top bid and top ask price using best_bid_ask_jump_orders_depth.

It is recommended to disable add_transcation_costs (set to false) for penny jumping mode to work effectively. This is because adding transaction costs would affect the prices at which the orders are placed and they might not be at the best bid/ask.

Example scenario:

The top bid/ask in the orderbook is 98 and 102 respectively and the mid price is 100.

Below is a sample configuration:

mode = single
order size = 1
bid threshold = 0.01 (1%)
ask threshold = 0.01 (1%)
best_bid_ask_jump_mode = true
jump_order_depth = 0
add_transaction_costs = false

Using the configs above, Hummingbot should place a buy order at 99 and sell order at 101. However, since penny jumping mode is enabled it will create orders with prices right just above the current top bid/ask in the orderbook. Hummingbot will place the buy order at 98.001 and the sell order at 101.999 instead. This will allow the user to capture a higher spread than the specified bid/ask threshold while keeping your orders at the top.

Example 2:

You have set your bid and ask threshold to a very small value that it puts your orders at the top of the order book. The image on the left shows the buy order is placed at 0.003159 and the sell order at 0.003165 with best bid ask jump mode disabled.

The image on the right has best bid ask jump enabled which places the buy order at 0.003150 and sell order at 0.003174 right just above the next best order.

When the next best order's price changes (not your own), your existing orders will not jump immediately. It will wait till cancel_order_wait_time for the orders to get cancelled and the new order will try to jump to just above best bid or just below best ask.

Prompt	Description
Do you want to enable best bid ask jumping? (Yes/No) >>>	This sets best_bid_ask_jump_mode (definition).
How deep do you want to go into the order book for calculating the top bid and ask, ignoring dust orders on the top (expressed in base asset amount)? >>>	This sets best_bid_ask_jump_orders_depth (definition).

Adding Transaction Costs to Prices

Transaction costs can now be added to the price calculation. fee_pct refers to the percentage maker fees per order (generally common in Centralized exchanges) while fixed_fees refers to the flat fees (generally common in Decentralized exchanges).

• The bid order price will be calculated as:

• The ask order price will be calculated as:

Adding the transaction cost will reduce the bid order price and increase the ask order price i.e. putting your orders further away from the mid price.

We currently display warnings if the adjusted price post adding the transaction costs is 10% away from the original price. This setting can be modified by changing warning_report_threshold in the c_add_transaction_costs_to_pricing_proposal function inside hummingbot/strategy/pure_market_making/pure_market_making_v2.pyx.

If the buy price with the transaction cost is zero or negative, it is not profitable to place orders and orders will not be placed.

Prompt	Description
Do you want to add transaction costs automatically to order prices? (Yes/No) >>>	This sets add_transaction_costs (definition).

External Pricing Source Configuration

By default, Hummingbot uses the market order book mid price (between the top bid and the top ask) as a starting price to calculate maker order prices. With external pricing sources, you can now use below external sources for the starting mid price.

Prompt	Description
Would you like to use an external pricing source for mid-market price? (Yes/No) >>>	This sets external_pricing_source (definition).
Which type of external price source to use? (exchange/feed/custom_api) >>>	This sets external_price_source_type (definition).

• Exchange

An external exchange that is supported by Hummingbot.

Prompt	Description
Enter exchange name >>>	This sets external_price_source_exchange (definition).

• Feed

Coin Market Cap or Coin Gecko data feed will be used.

Prompt	Description
Reference base asset from data feed? (e.g. ETH) >>>	This sets external_price_source_feed_base_asset (definition).
Reference quote asset from data feed? (e.g. USD) >>>	This sets external_price_source_feed_quote_asset (definition).

• Custom_API

An external API which provides price update continously.

Prompt	Description
Enter pricing API URL >>>	This sets external_price_source_custom_api (definition).

In a situation where the calculaton of maker order prices from external sources would result in the order matching any existing orders on the order book, such order will be ignored. For example, if ETH-USDC market is currently displaying 109 bid and 111 ask. A specified external exchange is showing 99 bid and 101 ask on its book (mid price = 100). 2 maker orders will be proposed, a bid maker order at 98 (for 2% bid spread) and an ask maker order at 102 (for 2% ask spread). The 102 ask order will be ignored (as it would match the 109 bid order), only the bid order will be submitted to the exchange.

Configuration Parameters

The following parameters are fields in Hummingbot configuration files located in the /conf folder (e.g. conf/conf_pure_market_making_strategy_[#].yml).

Term	Definition
order_amount (single order strategy)	The order amount for the limit bid and ask orders. Ensure you have enough quote and base tokens to place the bid and ask orders. The strategy will not place orders if you do not have sufficient balance for both sides of the order.
cancel_order_wait_time	An amount in seconds, which is the duration for the placed limit orders. Default value: 60 seconds. The limit bid and ask orders are cancelled and new bids and asks are placed according to the current mid price and settings at this interval.
bid_place_threshold	An amount expressed in decimals (i.e. input of 0.01 corresponds to 1%). The strategy will place the buy (bid) order 1% away from the mid price if set to 0.01. Example: Assuming the following, Top bid : 99, Top ask: 101 ; mid price: 100 ( (99+ 101)/2 ). If you set bid_place_threshold to 0.1 which is 10%, it will place your buy order (bid) at 10% below mid price of 100 which is 90.
ask_place_threshold	An amount expressed in decimals (i.e. input of 0.01 corresponds to 1%). The strategy will place the sell (ask) order 1% away from the mid price if set to 0.01. Example: Assuming the following, Top bid : 99, Top ask: 101 ; mid price: 100 ( (99+ 101)/2 ). If you set ask_place_threshold to 0.1 which is 10%, it will place your sell order (ask) at 10% above mid price of 100 which is 110.
number_of_orders (multiple order strategy)	The number of orders to place for each side. Example: Entering 3 places three bid and three ask orders.
order_start_size (multiple order strategy)	The size of the first order, which is the order closest to the mid price (i.e. best bid and best ask).
order_step_size (multiple order strategy)	The magnitude of incremental size increases for orders subsequent orders from the first order. Example: Entering 1 when the first order size is 10 results in bid sizes of 11 and 12 for the second and third orders, respectively, for a 3 order strategy.
order_interval_percent (multiple order strategy only)	The percentage amount increase in price for subsequent orders from the first order. Example: For a mid price of 100, ask_place_threshold of 0.01, and order_interval_percent of 0.005, the first, second, and third ask prices would be 101 (= 100 + 0.01 x 100), 101.5 (= 101 + 0.005 x 100), and 102.
inventory_skew_enabled	When this is true, the bid and ask order sizes are adjusted based on the inventory_target_base_percent.
inventory_target_base_percent	An amount expressed in decimals (i.e. input of 0.01 corresponds to 1%). The strategy will place bid and ask orders with adjusted sizes (based on order_amount, order_start_size) and try to maintain this base asset vs. total (base + quote) asset value. Example: You are market making ETH / USD with order_amount: 1 and balances of 10 ETH and 1000 USD. Your current base asset value is ~67% and quote asset value is ~33%. If inventory_target_base_percent: 0.5, the order amount will be adjusted from 1 ETH bid, 1 ETH ask to 0.67 ETH bid, 1.33 ETH ask.
filled_order_replenish_wait_time	An amount in seconds, which specifies the delay before placing the next order for single order mode. Default value: 10 seconds.
enable_order_filled_stop_cancellation	When this is true, the orders on the side opposite to the filled orders remains uncanceled. Default value: False.
best_bid_ask_jump_mode	When this is true, the bid and ask order prices are adjusted based on the current top bid and ask prices in the market. Default value: False.
best_bid_ask_jump_orders_depth	If best_bid_ask_jump_mode is true, this specifies how deep into the orderbook to go for calculating the top bid and ask prices including the user's active orders. Default value: 0.
add_transaction_costs	Parameter to enable/disable adding transaction costs to order prices. Default value: true.
external_pricing_source	If external price source will be used for the mid price. Default value: false.
external_price_source_type	The type of external pricing source (exchange/feed/custom_api).
external_price_source_exchange	An external exchange that has the same trading pair.
external_price_source_feed_base_asset	The base asset from data feed, e.g. ETH.
external_price_source_feed_quote_asset	The quote asset from data feed, e.g. USD.
external_price_source_custom_api	An API URL that returns price only, i.e. only decimal or whole number is expected.

Risks and Trading Mechanics

Warning

Not financial or investment advice. Below are descriptions of some risks associated with the pure market making strategy. There may be additional risks not described below.

Ideal case

Pure market making strategies works best when you have a market that's relatively calm, but with sufficient trading activity. What that means for a pure market makers is, he would be able to get both of his bid and ask offers traded regularly; the price of his inventory doesn't change by a lot so there's no risk of him ending up on the wrong side of a trend. Thus he would be able to repeatedly capture small profits via the bid/ask spread over time.

In the figure above, the period between 25 Feb and 12 Mar would be an example of the ideal case. The price of the asset stayed within a relatively small range, and there was sufficient trading activity for a market maker's offers to be taken regularly.

The only thing a market maker needs to worry about in this scenario is he must make sure the trading spread he sets is larger than the trading fees given to the exchange.

Low trading activity

Markets with low trading activity higher risk for pure market making strategies. Here's an example:

In any market with low trading activity, there's a risk where the market maker may need to hold onto inventory for a long time without a chance to trade it back. During that time, the prices of the traded assets may rise or drop dramatically despite seeing no or little trading activity on the exchange. This exposes the market maker to inventory risk, even after mitigating some of this risk by using wider bid spreads.

Other strategies may be more suitable from a risk perspective in this type of market, e.g. cross-exchange market making.

Volatile or trending markets

Another common risk that market makers need to be aware of is trending markets. Here's one example:

If a pure market maker set his spreads naively in such a market, e.g. equidistant bid/ask spread, there's a risk of the market maker's bid consistently being filled as prices trend down, while at the same time the market continues to move away from the market maker's ask, decreasing the probability of sells. This would result in an accumulation of inventory at exactly the time where this would reduce inventory inventory value, which is "wrong-way" risk.

However, it is still possible to improve the probability of generating profits in this kind of market by skewing bid asks, i.e. setting a wider bid spread (e.g. -4%) than ask spread (e.g. +0.5%). In this way, the market maker is trying to catch price spikes in the direction of the trend and buy additional inventory only in the event of a larger moves, but sell more quickly when there is an opportunity so as to minimize the duration the inventory is held. This approach also has a mean reversion bias, i.e. buy only when there is a larger move downwards, in the hopes of stabilization or recovery after such a large move.

Market making in volatile or trending markets is more advanced and risky for new traders. It's recommended that a trader looking to market make in this kind of environment to get mentally familiar with it (e.g. via paper trading) before committing meaningful capital to the strategy.

Technology / infrastructure risk

There are many moving parts when operating a market making bot that all have to work together in order to properly function:

• Hummingbot code
• Exchange APIs
• Ethereum blockchain and node
• Network connectivity
• Hummingbot host computer

A fault in any component may result in bot errors, which can range from minor and inconsequential to major.

It is essential for any market making bot to be able to regularly refresh its bid and ask offers on the market in order to adjust to changing market conditions. If a market making bot is disconnected from the exchange for an extended period of time, then the bid/ask offers it previously made would be left on the market and subject to price fluctuations of the market. Those orders may be filled at a loss as market prices move, while the market maker is offline. It is very important for any market maker to make sure technical infrastructure is secure and reliable.